Spellfire
by Rhea Hiryuu
Summary: Sequel to fic Spellbinder Trigon’s dead so now Raven can be at peace, well, as much as you can be with two humanoid dragons Malchior & Rorek competing for your attention. And as if that weren’t enough, she’s beginning to have strange dreams...
1. Storm

A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaack! Yes, tis I, the great and powerful dragoness Rhea Hiryuu, come to give you more Raven/Malchior/Rorek goodness! Aren't I just the sweetest?

Ahem, anyway, for those of you who did not see 'Sequel to…' in the synopsis, **PLEASE READ!** This is the sequel to my first Teen Titan fic Spellbinder, if you've seen this but haven't read Spellbinder, you'd better read it because it's not gonna make _any_ sense if you have not! As for my beloved and faithful reviewers from Spellbinder, I will be speaking with _you_ in the A/N at the end. For now, however, enjoy the first chapter of Spellfire!

* * *

_Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,  
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,  
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,  
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.  
" 'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door;  
Only this, and nothing more."_

_-The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe_

The thunder felt like a huge drum-hand upon her head while the rain lashed against the window, as if trying with all its might to break it down. The usually pleasant night air had become malevolent and dangerous with one of Jump City's many annual storms roaring with all its fury. Unfortunately, this storm had not been predicted to begin until the next night, so Raven hadn't had the time she needed to get a spell ready to guard the tower against all the noise and movement.

The thin girl turned over in her bed, trying to adjust her braid so that it wasn't pulling on one section of her head so much. She _still_ wasn't use to it being this long, and would have cut it back to its original length a long time ago if not _everyone_ in the Teen Tower dog-pilled on her until she swore to keep it. What was the _point_ though? It was just going to get in her way, like it was _now_. Well, she had to admit, she liked the way it looked, and it was probably the fact that two certain _someones_ liked it that had saved it from the dreaded scissors more than anything else.

Raven laid there, heaving a sigh. It was no good, there was no way she'd be able to get any sleep until the storm had passed. Which probably wouldn't be for another few hours, and it was likely that Robin would want to go out on a patrol afterwards to help with damages and such in the morning. Thereby insuring she was going to be a little grumpy in the morning, seeing as how _sleep_ is required prior to most daily activities.

Raven frowned at her curtains, which weren't doing very well in keeping the flashes of lightening from illuminating her room in annoying blinks. She made a mental note to do something about the light seepage before the next storm at least. She turned around so she would at least not have to watch them, and suddenly discovered that she was not the sole occupant of the bed.

Before she could react, a pair of inhumanly powerful arms had her in their caressing embrace and soft yet passionate lips were being pressed to hers.

After getting over the initial shock, Raven slipped her arms around the owner's neck and hugged him closer, kissing him back. Though she wasn't exactly in the right mood for another of Malchior's nighttime visits, maybe just a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

After a little while, though, the two broke apart. Raven sighed as the dark dragon nuzzled her neck affectionately. "Malchior, this isn't exactly the time…" She began after a moment.

"Of course it isn't. It's too late, you're too tired, the storm is destroying the mood, and I have, once again, invaded your privacy without permission, for which I shall be punished accordingly." He said while planting soft kisses along her jawbone. "Come now, Love. You need to learn how to relax a little." He said, massaging her shoulders

"And _you_ need to learn what the word 'stop' means." She said, now pushing against his chest to keep him from going any farther.

"Oh, I know what it means, I just ignore it." He said. He then rolled them over so that he was now on top of her.

"Malchior." She grumbled as he started kissing her collar, pulling her sleeves down a little so he could expose her shoulders better.

"Yes?" He asked in a seductive tone of voice.

"Stop." She told him flatly.

"Hnhnhn, as you wish, Love." He said, letting her sleeves slide back over her shoulders. He then sat up on her bed and helped her get up as well. "So, anything been bothering you lately?" He asked.

Raven raised an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Well, the storm might be helping a little more tonight, but lately you haven't been getting much sleep." He said.

"Hmm, wonder why." She replied.

"Yes, very funny, but I'm being serious. If anything these little visits should be helping you get to sleep, or they would be if you would just relax and enjoy it." He informed. He then slipped around behind her so that he could start massaging her shoulders.

She tried to shrug him off, "Will you stop it?" She asked.

"Will you relax? You're far too tense, it isn't healthy." He said, pulling her back into a more convenient position so that he could continue. "I'm only trying to help." He whispered in her ear.

Raven sighed in defeat and just let him. It really didn't feel all that bad, and maybe he was right, she just needed to relax.

"So, mind telling me what's been troubling you?" He asked, kissing her cheek from behind.

Again she heaved a sigh, but this one was deep and thoughtful. "I've been…having dreams…" She confessed finally.

"What sort of dreams? Nightmares?" He questioned.

"Yes, and no. Some are nightmares, others…I don't know. I don't remember them very much, just a few bits and pieces. I've actually started having them a lot earlier I think, but it's only been recent that I've remembered more about them than just a white shirt." She said.

"A white shirt?" Malchior asked in confusion.

"Actually, I think it's a dress." She answered, trying to remember.

"Don't think too hard about it, things come easier when you let them flow into your mind. Relax. You haven't been meditating much lately, maybe that's one of your problems. You're still not use to this change. But can you remember anything else from these dreams?" He asked, saying this while planting kisses on her neck.

"Um…"

"Just relax," He whispered, pulling her onto his lap and holding her closely from behind.

_What can it hurt?_ She thought. She gave a reluctant sigh, but let her body melt into his embrace. She closed her eyes and let her mind empty out. Malchior held her securely to his form with one arm while the other explored and caressed her body, though, thankfully, avoiding her breasts. He continued to kiss her neck tenderly and lovingly while waiting for her answer, "A woman," She said finally, "a woman in dark emerald clothing, for some reason I hate her." She told him.

"See? Anything else?" He asked.

"Um…yes…something…anger, I think, a lot of anger. But I can't remember why or whose it was." She answered.

"Mmm, so, these dreams, do they feel real in some way?" He asked.

"No, they feel…like dreams, only…different somehow. It's like they all have a common thread." She answered, trying to think.

"Have they been leaving you feeling tired, or are you just reluctant to sleep so you can avoid them?" He asked.

"I'd rather not have them at all." She answered.

"You should try analyzing them, they could be important, especially now that you are more powerful than you were, such dreams are sometimes prophetic, or are telling you something very important. Try to figure out their meaning before it's too late." He suggested.

She sighed, "But…I just don't…I don't really like them."

"I can certainly understand that, but take it from someone whose had experience, ignoring them is _not_ a good idea. Dreams are sometimes the mind's way of releasing a buildup of information, but other times when you dream you can be taken to a plain outside of time and space. What you see could be the future, the past, or a warning. You're at the level now where your mind is most likely to reach this plain by itself. Ignoring these dreams, or trying to avoid them, you will in turn continue upon a treacherous path that could be avoided. This woman you hate in your dreams, is there anything else you can remember about her?" He asked.

"Only that an extreme loathing is always associated with her appearance. I think she has very long dark hair, though, but that's about all I can remember." She sighed.

"Hm, I see. Next time when you wake up from these dreams, take some paper and write down anything you remember from them before it fades away." He said. Malchior gave her a tight squeeze and then set her back down on her bed. He laid her down and then pulled the covers up over her as if she were a child. "But try to sleep, these dreams could be very important." He told her. He bent down and gave her one last passionate kiss, and then bid her goodnight.

Raven sighed (_again_) after he left and turned over on her side. Malchior was right, this woman might be their next enemy. As much as she didn't want to, she should probably get some sleep.

The storm outside had subsided, no more lightning flashed, nor did it thunder against her window. Soft, consistent pitter-pattering of the rain whispered through the walls, singing a lullaby like that of a babbling brook. Raven fingered her black dyed lock, unable to help but think about Malchior, not what he said, _him_. She shifted into a more comfortable position.

_I couldn't have fallen in love with a normal boy, oh noooooo, I have to be **different**, I have to chose a dragon that's been split into two people!_ She thought to herself, slightly irritated.

* * *

"Alright, I think that's the last of them." Robin called. 

Raven allowed the roof to fall back to the ground now that the young woman was safely out from under it. A familiar siren approached them, the fire truck, police, and ambulance, late as always.

"Not yet." Cyborg said. He pointed to a building where Zacroma was currently bringing down a bunch of little kids that had been trapped in the second story by the collapse. Starfire and Raven soon joined her.

"It's alright." Raven soothed as the scared little girl shied away from her. "Don't be afraid." She said kindly.

"I want my mommy!" The little girl cried, launching into her arms.

"We'll find your mommy." Raven assured as Zacroma picked up a bawling toddler. It looked like one of the girls had been having a sleepover. Starfire picked up the last two at the same time and they carried the children on down to join the others.

Raven tried putting the girl down so she could join her friends, but she seemed to be rather strong for a little girl, and she refused to let go of Raven's neck. She suppressed a sigh and held on to the girl while she looked around for a potential 'mommy'.

Though it seemed Starfire was filling in that position quite efficiently. She was supporting a kid in each arm, _two_ riding piggyback, and one on each leg. The only kid she didn't have was the one currently trying to become Raven's next limb. "My! What loving little children! I wonder to whom they belong." She said, absolutely thrilled at having the attention.

Zacroma giggled, "You're going to make a good mother someday, Starfire." She observed.

"Oh I certainly do hope so! I just love children!" Starfire exclaimed.

Raven couldn't help but notice that Robin's ears had turned red. She let herself smirk.

"Raven, if you do not get this…_thing_, off of me right now, there _will_ be at least one casualty, and not because of the storm." Malchior hissed.

Raven looked over, her eyes went wide, and then she bit down hard on her lip, trying with all her might to keep herself from laughing.

Malchior glared at her, and then at the '_thing_'. "Madam, do the words 'I _have_ a lover' mean anything to you?" He asked the teenage girl who had decided to attach herself to his arm.

"Hmph! What could _she_ possibly have that I don't?" The girl demanded. Raven sweatdropped and decided to try escaping the knowledge of his answer. She heard it anyway.

"Hm, let's see, she's more intelligent, she's vastly more powerful, she's much more beautiful, and she's half demon, beat that."

"Okay, I'm leaving." The girl said in a small voice.

"Well, that was simple." Malchior said, jogging back up to Raven, "See now _this_ is why I hate being, what you call, a 'good guy'." He complained. "At least I don't have a child hanging onto me." He said.

Raven resisted making a smart-alike remark, without much luck. "You're too scary looking for that." She said.

"Good…hey wait a minute, what's that suppose to mean?" He demanded.

"Clarissa!" A woman's voice suddenly cried.

"Mommy!" The little girl in her arms exclaimed, launching herself towards her mother.

"Oh thank you so much!" The woman cried, holding her daughter tightly. "You have no idea how worried I was." She said.

Raven nodded her head, "Be thankful, she was lucky." She said, before turning to rejoin the other Titans.

"How's that new armor of yours holding up, Rorek?" Zacroma asked, giving her own handy work a tap on the decorative M.

"It feels just like my old plate, you did a very good job." Rorek assured.

Out of guilt and to be helpful, Zacroma had taken to making Rorek a new set of armor to replace what she'd destroyed in her 'villain' days. He provided her with the proper metal to be used (somehow having gotten his hands on mythrill) and she'd spent a good amount of days making and remaking it to be just like his old one. Poor Rorek had to put on 12 gradually fitting plates (Malchior laughing in the background at particularly embarrassing attempts) before she had perfected it.

Robin secured his helmet and checked the computer on his new bike. "There's more. Come on." He said.

"_More?_! But we've already saved 100 people! Isn't that enough for the day?" Malchior exclaimed.

"You really don't get this hero business do you?" Zacroma asked.

"Okay, number one, I _refuse_ to be called a 'hero' or considered a member of the 'team', the only reason _I'm_ here is because—"

"Because Raven said 'heal boy!' and natural instincts give you no choice but to obey." Zacroma finished for him.

Malchior raised an eyebrow in confusion, "What?"

"Well it's simple rea—uh oh," Zacroma paused, and then started running for dear life.

"ZACROMA!" Raven yelled.

"HAVE MERCY!" The girl cried.

"GUYS!" Robin yelled. He sighed and turned to Beast Boy, "This is something I'd have expected from _you_." He said.

"It's something I wanted to do." BB responded.

"Oh shut up." Robin grumbled. Beast Boy morphed his lungs enough so that he could let out a very Ed-like laugh.

* * *

"Yall an't gonna be sorry about this!" Cyborg assured. 

"Does it count if I'm already sorry?" Raven questioned as she was forcibly pushed into the entertainment room.

"Aw come on, Raven! You promised after all." Beast Boy told her.

Raven sighed and sat down next to Robin, who had been duct-taped to his seat and was currently fuming. Beast Boy was leading Starfire in with the girliest looking magazine he could find in his hand, and her following him, continually asking if it was for her in her sweet, hopeful way. And then came in Zacroma, obviously in on the entire thing, and dragging a chained up Malchior and Rorek behind her. "Iron binds fey." She explained with a large grin.

"You don't have to tell them!" Malchior hissed, looking extremely put out.

"You really did not have to tie me up to—" Rorek began.

"Liar!" Zacroma snapped, placing him on the couch next to Raven. She then put Malchior beside him (this, as you can see, is a very big couch).

"What, I have to sit beside sissy boy! I can't at least sit on the other side of Raven?" Malchior demanded. Raven sank into her seat.

"No, because then we'd have to un-tape Robin from the couch and the instant we did he'd hop away." Zacroma explained.

Malchior glowered, "This…what's the word?"

"Bites? Sucks? Stinks? Blows?" Beast Boy listed.

"All of the above." He answered.

"Okay whatever! Here!" Raven huffed. She got up, levitated Rorek to where she had been sitting and then settled herself in the middle.

"Popcorn?" Cyborg asked Robin, sitting down.

Robin made an 'mmmm!' sound, so Cyborg unwisely took off the duct tape on his mouth. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YO—" And slapped it right back on.

"So what's this movie about?" Raven asked.

Cyborg and Beast Boy grinned so broadly half their faces were taken up by teeth. "Yooouuuuuu'll seeeeeee." They sang at the same time.

"Everyone ready?" Beast Boy asked.

"JUST PLAY IT!" Yelled Raven and Malchior.

"Alright!" Beast Boy pressed the button on his remote.

The TV portrayed the ever-cliché '3, 2, 1' film and then flickered to a perfectly fine picture of the T-Tower. Question marks flew about the heads of everyone but Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were grinning even bigger (If that was humanly possible).

"Uh, Beast Boy, what is thi—" Raven began.

"Sh, sh, sh!" The changling hushed, just as his own voice came from the screen.

Beast Boy: Ah, the T-Tower, home of the protectors of Jump City, the best super heros around, The Teen Titans!

"Oh for crying out lo—" Malchior tried, but suddenly found a strip of duct tape slapped onto his mouth by Zacroma (who was the only one with guts to do it).

Cyborg: But what do people _really_ know about the Teen Titans? What do the Teen Titans know about themselves, and each other? Let's ask them!

The scene changed to a view of Cyborg and Beast Boy wearing what seemed to be what they thought was reporter outfits. Suites, ties, and microphones.

Beast Boy: We're here exclusively, _inside_ the Teen Tower. What are your thoughts Cyborg?

Cyborg: Well I'm hoping we'll get to see, not only action, but maybe even some stuff I'm sure no one has _ever_ seen before! It's gonna be off da hook yo!

Beast Boy's face got right up to the camera.

Beast Boy: You'd better believe it!

The scene changed to one where they were walking along the hall, the camera somehow following them, and turning their heads so they could talk to it.

Cyborg: First off is the Boy Wonder himself, every girl's dream date, Robin!

"What!" Starfire suddenly yelled, she then gave Robin a glare, the poor boy unable to do anything but shake his head, trying to mumble that that's _not_ what they meant. She then turned her head with a "Hmph!" as the Beast Boy and Cyborg knocked on Robin's door.

Beast Boy: Oh Rooooobiiiiin, it's us!

Robin: I'm a little busy right now, what do you need?

Cyborg: Just a moment.

Robin foolishly opened the door, but before he could inquire about what they needed, they had him on a fold-out chair that they seemed to have been carrying and were suddenly surrounding him, keeping him from escaping.

Beast Boy: So, Robin, tell us about yourself!

Robin: (Staring, wide-eyed, at the camera) Uh, guys, what's going on?

Cyborg: Don't pay any attention to the camera, Robin. Just relax, and try to think about how you would describe yourself.

Robin: That's a _camera_!

Beast Boy: Okay let's just skip onto the next question, what are you're thoughts on _Starfire_? (He asks sinisterly)

Starfire then perked up and stared at the screen with rapt attention.

Robin: (Eyes widen) (Blushes) Uh, well I ah…er…I think she's very…ah…(sweats) lively!

Beast Boy Cyborg: (Fall to the floor)

Raven leaned over and whispered from the corner of her mouth, "In case you didn't know, you were suppose to say 'beautiful'." Robin glared and grunted something that she took to mean 'I know!'.

Beast Boy: Okay, whatever, (Whispers) What he _wants_ to say, but isn't, is that he's hopelessly in love with Starfire and that she's the most gorgeous girl in the universe.

Starfire's eyes instantly shone with bright sparkles, "_Really_?" She squealed, "Oh Robin!" She launched herself at him, causing the duct tape holding him to the couch to rip off and him to fall on the ground with her kissing him all over the face. Not that it looked like he minded much. Meanwhile the video Robin was currently yelling at Beast Boy, demanding to know what he had said.

"Alright kiddies, if you're going to do that here on the floor you could at least do it right!" Malchior exclaimed, "Stick your tongue in his ear!" _Smack!_ "Owe! What was that for!" He exclaimed.

"What do _you_ think?" Raven asked, glaring at him. "And how'd you get that duct tape off?"

"I ate it." He answered.

"Riiiiiiight, no really." Raven said.

"No, really! I can prove it too." He said, he then flexed his neck a bit, and suddenly unearthed a mushy wad of gray-silver stuff, displaying it publicly on his tongue. Raven stared.

"HOLY CRA—" Zacroma freaked.

"Ap ap ap! Movie!" Beast Boy yelled.

The scene had changed and now they had Starfire.

Starfire: Oh, well I like to think of myself as being a strong person,

"While passing out at the sight of blood." Malchior inserted, earning himself another smack. "Well she _did_!" he exclaimed.

Starfire-And someone that can make others happy!

Beast Boy: So what are you're thoughts on _Robin_?

Starfire: Oh, well, (Giggle Blush), he is an excellent leader, very kind, concerned, strong, and resourceful, but also very smart!

Beast Boy: (Whispers) What she _wants_ to say, but isn't, is that Robin's very H-O-T hot!

Starfire: What did you say?

Beast Boy: Uh, nothing! So, what are you're thoughts on Raven?

Starfire: She is very strong indeed, not always pleasant, but a good person at heart! But I think she is lonely, she very much needs to get out and make more friends! In fact, I think I have heard of some, what are they…Magazines! That may be able to tell me what I can do to help her! I will go and get some right now! (Runs off)

Cyborg: Dang, we didn't get to ask her about _us_!

Everyone but Starfire and Robin (Who were still on the floor .) looked at the two. "What!" Beast boy demanded.

The scene changed again, and the two were approaching Raven's door. They paused at the front, and then looked at each other. They then looked back at it.

Beast Boy: Well, ah, go on in, Cy.

Cyborg: Actually, I think she likes you more, you go in.

Beast Boy: Noooo, I annoy her, so you go in.

Cyborg: Noooooo, I think you should go in.

Beast Boy: No, you go in.

Cyborg: You go in.

Beast Boy: You go in.

Cyborg: You go in.

Beast Boy: No you go in.

Cyborg: No _you_ go in.

Beast Boy: You go in!

Cyborg: You go in!

Beast Boy: You go in.

Raven sweatdropped, "I think I remember this….Thought it was another prank." She grumbled.

Raven: Guys, what are you doing in front of my room?

Beast Boy and Cyborg turned around, both looking relieved, and then attacked Raven, sitting her down in the seat.

Cyborg: So Raven! We're going around asking all the Titans these questions, what do you think of yourself?

Raven: (Raises eyebrow) I think I would like to go back to my room and read my new book.

Beast Boy: Aw come on Raven! Just go with it, _pleeeeeeease_?

Raven: (Sighs) I'm dark.

Cyborg: And?

Raven: And would like to get in my room.

Beast Boy: _Fine_, we'll go on to the next question.

Cyborg: What are your thoughts on that fine changeling, Beast Boy!

Raven: (Raises eyebrow while Beast Boy starts flexing his non-existing pecks) Sorry, I can't say that on TV.

Beast Boy: (Freezes, then slumps to the ground in despair)

Cyborg: What about _me_, (Flashes charming smile).

Raven-' I think you have dark skin, are made of metal, and are properly named.

Cyborg: (Slumps as well) Dang. Well, what are your thoughts on Robin?

Raven: He's the leader of the team and I have no problem with it.

Beast Boy: Starfire?

Raven: Needs to calm down and learn what the term anti-social means.

"Speaking of which, should probably stick her tongue in Robin's _mouth_ as well. OWE!" Malchior exclaimed, earning himself a third red mark.

Cyborg: Oh _come on_! Tell us something new! Something we don't know!

Raven: regular tap water contains about 5 chlorine to keep bacteria at bay.

Cyborg: Haha, very funny Ra—

Raven: Haha, I'm going to my room now. (Phases through her door)

Beast Boy: Dude, did _you_ know there was chlorine in tap wa—

Cyborg: Shut up!

"Heh, heheheheh," Raven snickered.

"Shut up!" Both Cyborg and Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Okay now you'll want to nibble his neck a bit." Malchior instructed.

"You shut up too!" Robin exclaimed. "Ah!…" His eyes widened, "whoa…"

"Heheh, I don't see you compla—OWE! _What_ do I keep doing _wrong_!" Malchior demanded.

Rorek: Um, what is that?

Beast Boy: It's called a camera, just ignore it. Ahem, anyway! This is our newest Teen Titan, Rorek! Say hello Rorek!

Rorek: Are there people in there?

Cyborg: No, just go with it. We're gonna ask you some questions about your thoughts and such, so just answer them and we'll all be happy!

Rorek: Is this some sort of test?

Beast Boy: uh…yeah! Ahem, so, how would you best describe yourself?

Rorek: That is a rather personal question…

Cyborg: Well, you don't have to say anything _personal_, just how you'd best describe yourself.

Beast Boy: Here's a question, why do you wear that scarf over your face? Is it so you can stick your tongue out at people and they won't notice!

Rorek: Um…I suppose I _could_ do that, but what would such a gesture accomplish?

Beast Boy: (Sigh) Never mind, alright! Here's another question, what do you think of _Raven_?

Rorek: I thought her name was Raven, not _Raven_.

Beast Boy: Uh…same thing.

Rorek: The two names sound very different to me.

Cyborg: Okay whatever, what do you think of 'Raven'?

Rorek: I think she is very dark, not very trusting, and perhaps a little too withdrawn.

Beast Boy: (evil look)Do you _liiiiiike_ her?

Rorek: Like her? Well I certainly don't hate her if that's what you mean.

Beast Boy: Okay, how about this? Do you think she's pretty?

Rorek: I think she is very pretty, why? What's this all about?

Beast Boy: (innocent look) Oh, nothing.

Rorek: (Raises eyebrow) Um, right, am I free to go?

Cyborg: Uh, yeah, go on.

Cyborg and Beast Boy then exchanged rather evil looks as the scene changed again.

Beast Boy: Hey Raven! What are your thoughts on—

Raven: Go away. (Slams door in their face)

Cyborg: Well _that_ was informative.

Beast Boy: Shut up.

The scene then changed again so that the camera focused directly on Beast Boy and Cyborg once again.

Beast Boy: So, Cy, what'ja think of _that_!

Cyborg: I think it stank!

Beast Boy: Stank, like STANK BALL! (Throws wad of smelly socks at Cyborg's head)

Cyborg: Oh it's on! (Chases Beast Boy around with the wad)

Scene changes.

"Yay! Wo hoooo!" Beast Boy cheered, clapping.

"Uh, dude, isn't it suppose to end there?" Cyborg asked as the camera was beginning to focus on the living room, more precisely the couch. Raven's eyes widened.

"YEAH!" Beast Boy exclaimed as the object was now clearly obvious to everyone.

Beast Boy: We're here at Titan Tower where the apocalypse is being held. What are your thoughts on the subject Cyborg?

Cyborg: Personally? I think we should run for our lives.

"Like we should probably be doing now!" Cyborg said.

"I THOUGHT YOU CUT THAT PART OUT!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"I THOUGHT YOU DID!"

Raven: Beast Boy, I am going to _mutilate_ your body.

"Like I am going to do now." Raven said. Her hair was floating around her and her eyes were glowing, not white, but _red_.

Beast Boy: Uh oh. HAVE MERCY!

"Uh, yeah, what I said!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven's hands began to glow black.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Cyborg and Beast Boy's screams could be heard by a very confused fish from outside the T-Tower.

* * *

A/N: So how was that! Good start ay? Nice long chapter!

Ho boy, I have such a long list of reviewers from Spellbinder and Forever Yours, I LOVE YOU GUYS! Sorry this took so long, really sorry, but you know how the teenage mind works, can't stay focused on one thing for very long. But I'm getting the plot formulated all nicely, and though I know most sequels are never better or as good as the first (specially in movies) I think you guys are gonna like what I've got in store anyways, LET THE DRAMA BEGIN! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahem, a few notes here, some of you who have RRed Forever Yours don't seem to understand what the term 'ONE-SHOT' means, let me explain it. It is a _one chapter_ fic, as in no more chapters, as in I'd rather not get another story going while I still have this to get on with. I cannot do several stories at the same time, I don't know why, but something in my brain just isn't wired for that. If I go onto another story with the intention of still writing this one, it isn't going to happen. It's one or the other guys, trust me, I have had _plenty_ of experience with this, and by now I have figured out how my brain works.

So wish me luck and let's cross our fingers that, now that I'm back on this, I can finish it before I get side-tracked, _again_.


	2. Dead Gardens

A/N: Necronom Hesberek Mortis! Heheheh, okay I'll shut up now.

* * *

_Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December,  
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.  
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow  
From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore,.  
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore,  
Nameless here forevermore._

_-The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

"**All of my gardens are dead."**

"**Maybe you're not planting the right things."**

"**No, my hands can only take life, they can't give it."**

"**Now, that's not true. Your roses are more beautiful than any other upon this world."**

"**Their beauty lasts only for a day. And besides, you would say that even if they weren't."**

"**Hnhnhn, so I would."**

"NO!" Raven shouted, nearly screamed, as she sat bolt upright in her bed, gripping her covers. Tears poured freely down her face, she tried wiping them away, she tried to stop them, but they continued to flow. In the end she gave up and just let herself sob uncontrollably into her own hands. She didn't know why, but emotion just seemed to well up inside of her, blocking out all rational thought.

When she was at least able to do more than just sob, all she could remember was something about dead gardens. So she scribbled it down in the little notebook beside her bed. She felt another fit of tears coming on, but she suppressed it, just barely, keeping her cries to sobs instead.

It happened every night, nightmare or not, she woke up with a barely muffled scream and would just start crying. She didn't know why, she couldn't know why, it was like the emotion was just burning itself into her, and it was coming from those dreams. She would always wake up sometime in the night, and would be unable to get back to sleep. This night was no exception.

The dreams could be strange, or even pleasant, like that last one, it didn't matter. She would cry, or scream, or both. She had only been lucky so far that no one had been awakened by her scream. Well, until tonight it seemed.

As soon as a hand was placed upon her shoulder she launched herself into the owner's arms, gripping the fabric of their shirt and burring her face in their chest in order to muffle her sobs. Rorek, Malchior, _Robin_, she didn't care who it was right now, just _someone_ who would hold her. She felt so fragile right now, as if she were only just barely holding herself together and the slightest thing would break her. The pair of arms wound themselves around her form, holding her firmly in place to prevent her from falling apart.

"Did you, have a nightmare?" Asked a soft, gentle voice once her sobbing had subsided. It was Rorek. Or was it? Sometimes their voices were exactly the same. But their mannerisms were rather different, and it felt a little more like Rorek than Malchior.

"No," She whispered, still shaking slightly. "No, it wasn't a nightmare, I just…I don't know. I can't help it." She brought her arms around his torso and hugged him tightly. Keeping herself together while slowly the pieces were being cemented firmly into place.

"What was it about?" he asked.

"I, I don't remember…dead gardens…two voices, I don't recognize them at all. I can't even remember what they were!" She exclaimed, her voice wavering and getting higher with panic.

"Ssssh, sssh, calm down, it's okay." Rorek hushed, stroking her hair. "You don't have to remember if it hurts."

"But, but Malchior said—" Raven stopped short as Rorek's body suddenly became rigid. He then pushed her just far enough away from him that he could look into her eyes. He gave her a kind, yet almost wary look.

"What, did Malchior say?" he asked. There was something in his voice that shook her up, causing her to become brittle again.

"I'm sorry! I meant to tell you, but it never came up and I—" She cried.

"No! No, Raven, it isn't that, I'm not mad! It's okay." He assured swiftly, "But, what did Malchior _say_?" He asked.

"Well…I-I've been having these, these dreams for a while and, and sometimes they're nightmares, sometimes they're…just like this, and I can only remember a few things because afterwards I just…this happens, I can't control myself, I don't know why I'm crying, I don't know why I feel so…so helpless. Malchior said I should try and, try to remember them, to write what I can remember down, and make sense of them in case they're trying to tell me something important." She told him, almost in a babbling voice. Several times she had to stop and swallow another sob.

"Oh." He said in a slightly flat tone of voice.

"'Oh'? 'Oh'? That's all you have to say is 'oh'!" She demanded, almost shrilly.

"Raven!" He exclaimed, shaking her slightly, "Stop that! Calm down! You're starting to scare me!"

It seemed that was what she had needed all along, though a slap in the face might have made her feel better. She rubbed her face as if to clear cobwebs, and let out a large, almost forceful, breath. "Yes, you're right. I need to get a hold of myself." She said, telling him as much as herself.

"What can I do to help?" He asked.

"Give me your opinion, what should I do?" She questioned.

"Don't stress yourself over it, I agree that these dreams could be important, but it'll only get worse if you obsess over them, not that I think you will, they can't be very good if you keep crying afterwards. It's a good idea to write down key things that you remember each time you wake up, but at the same time loosing sleep isn't a good idea either. Do you have any of that dreamless sleep potion from the directions I gave you?" He asked.

"Oh, yes I think I do, I just forgot about it." She answered.

"I'll go get it," he said with a kiss on her forehead. "Lay down and try to relax." He advised.

Raven almost cried again when he sat up from her bed, even though he was only going into her closet and coming right back out. Why? Why was she like this? It hadn't been quite this bad those other times. Of course, those other times she hadn't screamed loudly enough to alert anyone beyond thinking it was just _them_. Was it the dream itself? Or because he was there?

No, it was probably the dream. If anything, Rorek's presence should be helping her stabilize herself.

"I found it." He said in a lighten-the-mood tone of voice. She sat up and took the bottle from his hand. She took a small sip, all that was required, and then fell into her pillows so she could wait for it to take effect.

Rorek placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. "We can talk about this more in the morning, in the meantime, go ahead and try sleeping as much as you need to." He told her, standing up to leave.

Raven suddenly grabbed his wrist on instinct before he got too far, she bit her lip as he turned to give her a questioning look, "W-will you…stay until I fall asleep?" She got out in a whisper. She hated being this way, she hated the fact that she felt so vulnerable right now, hated herself for asking something so stupid, but she couldn't help it. Her emotions were unhindered, running wild within her, and she didn't know how to handle it.

Rorek took her hand into his, giving her an understanding look, "Of course." He said. He pulled her desk chair over to the bed and sat down, holding her hand in his. He kissed it once and then caressed her cheek with his other hand, stroking her hair as if she were a child. She was too tired to care anymore, all she could think about was how comforting it felt to have him there.

* * *

Raven took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She focused her mind completely on the task before her, one wrong move could cost her dearly.

Her enemy was trying to fool her, trick her into believing one thing so that she would make the wrong move. But he couldn't fool her, her power was greater than that. She made her move.

"Hearts! I won!" Raven exclaimed, showing her card off to Beast Boy.

"Aw maaaaaaaan! You _always_ win!" Beast Boy cried, looking like he was about to tear the joker in his hand up into little pieces.

"Yay for Raven!" Starfire cheered.

"If you would learn to control your facial expressions so that they weren't so obviously fake you'd do better." Raven told him. Beast Boy's eyes went wide as he just stared at her in shock. "Beast Boy?" She questioned, waving her hand in front of him.

"He's in shock because you didn't insult him instead of giving him tips." Cyborg explained.

"White is really you're color, Raven, you should wear it all the time." Beast Boy said, his voice sounding more like a robot as his face hardly changed expressions.

Raven sweatdropped. "Whatever."

"Let me try." Malchior took the joker from Beast Boy and mixed it up with one of his cards behind his back, he then held them out to Raven, sitting down in front of her.

"You have to take of your scarf first!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "Cheeeater!"

"Hnhn, you're right, I am a cheater." Malchior chuckled. Beast Boy facefalted.

Raven focused on the two cards in his hand, studying them, then looking at him while her fingers hovered over the cards. Though when she looked into his eyes they looked right back into hers, looking at her in a lustful way. He winked at her flirtatiously and she sweatdropped, giving him a irritable look. She then decided to focus on the cards in his hand.

The one on her right seemed to be calling her, drawing her to it as if it were some sort of candlelight. She let her hand hover over it for only a second and then, she picked the one on the left.

"Bloody he—how'd you do that!" Malchior demanded. Raven smacked him with the card.

"Simple, _cheater_, I had a strong urge to pick the one on my right, so I took the one on my left. A simple spell like that would only need eye contact for a moment." She said.

"Darn you." He grumbled.

"_You're_ the one who was cheating." She pointed out.

"And _you're_ the one who saw through it." He came back.

"_Usually_ that's a good thing." Zacroma said, "Face it, Mal, you've been beaten!"

"Did you just call me 'Mal'?" He asked, twitching slightly.

"Who's up for a game of Super Mario Brothers Melee?" Cyborg exclaimed.

"ME ME ME!" Both Zacroma and Beast Boy exclaimed.

"May I play as well?" Rorek asked politely.

"Okay, Rorek? Let me teach you the proper, _American_ way to ask that. Repeat after me, 'I wanna play!'" Zacroma instructed.

"'I wanna play'." Rorek obeyed, though his tone was _definitely_ off.

Beast Boy and Zacroma just sighed, "We shall teach you more later." Said Zacroma, placing a pitying hand on his shoulder.

"For now, let's play!" Beast Boy cried, slamming himself down on the couch with his controller.

"Make way, make way, the kings and queen must now play their video games." Malchior said, getting up from the floor so he could move away.

"Hey man! Don't dis the video games yo!" Cyborg snapped.

"I am not 'dissing' the video games, I am 'dissing' you and your obsession." Malchior returned.

"I'm leaving now." Raven said, she then stood up and went to the kitchen where Robin and Starfire had retreated previously. She opened it up only halfway before she decided to close it again and go somewhere else.

Malchior raised a slight eyebrow and decided to see what it was himself. "How many times must I tell you? You're doing it wrong!" He exclaimed, he started saying something else, but Raven grabbed his hair and dragged him away, closing the door with her telekinesis.

"Leave them _alone_." Raven grumbled. "How would _you_ like it if someone did that to you?" She demanded.

"They wouldn't, because _I_ actually do it right. Observe." He said, before she could react he had his arms wound tightly around her, bending her slightly forward and frenching wildly.

Raven was _about_ to lash out at him, but Rorek got to him first. The white haired dragon tackled his darker self to the floor, causing an anime dust cloud to appear as the two punched, kicked, strangled, and all other sorts of physical combat.

"How dare you kiss her like that!"

"Oh and you wouldn't?"

"I'm more honorable than that!"

"You mean more of a coward?"

"I am no coward! _You_ are an arrogant b!"

"And _you_ are a nagging b!"

Raven opened her mouth, about to say something, but closed it, "Forget it, I'll be on the roof." She said.

"Betcha 10 bucks Malchior pulls out a bottle of shaving cream." Zacroma said in an undertone. Raven sweatdropped, but then pointedly walked to the stairway.

The air was cool outside, exaggerated by the wind and shielded by the blanket of gray clouds over the sky. The air smelled of rain and the waves of the water crashed against the island, destroying what might have been a quiet afternoon. Raven sighed heavily as she positioned herself in the air, it felt like another storm would be coming. Hopefully it wouldn't be as powerful as the last, though. Unfortunately she was _still_ low on supplies, and Alabaster's was going to take a while to get what she needed.

Which was one reason she'd yet to be able to scurry for Slade using Rorek's fool-proof technique.

Meditating sounded like a good idea, she hadn't been doing it lately because she thought she didn't need to. But now it seemed she had more of a reason than to suppress her emotions. She needed to clear her mind, try to sort out these dreams and what they might mean. So far all she had were words and phrases that pertained to them. Dark woman, hated, dead gardens, a white dress, unfamiliar voices, and….blue, green-rimmed eyes.

Raven's eyes shot back open, instantly she summoned her notebook and pencil to write that down before it left. They were so…odd. And it was like they appeared in her mind. She couldn't see the rest of the face, just those eyes. It was like the pupil was blue and the iris was green, they were gem-like in quality, large and, rather childish it seemed. No…they were older than that…or were they? She didn't know. All she knew was that they couldn't belong to the dark woman. There was no emotion of hatred behind them.

But what did they mean? Was it symbolic of something? It couldn't be a warning, there was a sort of gentleness to them, or was that fear? Raven shook her head as if to remove cobwebs and tried to focus on those eyes, but she was beginning to loose sight of what they actually looked like. They didn't look like normal eyes, that was for sure, but now she couldn't picture them anymore, all she could remember were immediate thoughts about them. She scribbled all she could down on her notebook, but the memory was gone save for the descriptive words.

Raven sighed, irritated with herself. This was likely very important, and she was loosing the information as swiftly as she was getting it. But, meditation had indeed helped her to remember those eyes, maybe if she continued she would remember more.

"Raven?" A voice hailed from the roof door. It was Rorek.

_There's a pattern here, I just **know** it._ She thought to herself. It was always either Malchior or Rorek who would interrupt her during the few alone times she'd been able to have since three new titans had been added to the teem. Well, two, Malchior still refused to be considered a 'Teen Titan'. But it was beginning to feel like she would never be able to have her withdrawing periods as she use to. She may be changing quite a bit considering she was free, but she was still Raven, and Raven needed her space.

Still, she was in a relationship now, however uncomfortable she was admitting to that. And not with just one guy, oooooooh noooooo, there had to be _two_. Both of which were still fighting over her (and driving her insane in the process).

So she looked up, keeping her slight irritation from showing, and said, "Hm?"

"Well, I did say I would help you with your dreams last night, I was wondering if now would be a good time, since everyone else is, ahem, occupied." He said.

Raven looked at him, eyebrow raised, "What happened?" She asked.

"Well, currently Malchior and Zacroma are engaged in a shaving cream fight, Cyborg and Beast Boy are gambling on who will win, and I think Robin had just come out to investigate the disturbance when I came up here." Rorek answered.

"How'd that—okay never mind. Here, take a look at this, I just wrote this down a minute ago. It seemed to come to me during meditation." She told him, holding out her notepad.

Rorek took the pad and read it thoughtfully. He looked around for a moment, but found nowhere to sit, so he just sat on the floor, Raven mirroring his position so that they could discuss this better. "This is very odd, but let's see here. I think the white dress could be a semblance of purity, this woman might be you, your demon self, the part of you that you hate. These voices might belong to people you will meet in the future, or people you have met in the past but have forgotten. Perhaps someone from your childhood that has significance. Dead Gardens…hm. I'm not quite sure about that, but a dead garden usually symbolizes what once had life, it isn't a garden unless it grew something, and a dead garden would be littered with wilted plants. Now, these eyes…I really don't know. They are very strange, seems they're very confusing in themselves. Perhaps a shift from young to old, fearful to gentle. But that would depend on what the eyes themselves mean. Perhaps these eyes are _seeing_ something that is green and blue. The sky and the grass is one thing, perhaps a blue flower with a green stem, they sound like sea colors, so maybe they have something to do with the ocean." He explained.

"You think it's all symbolic of something?" Raven asked.

"Dreams often are. You never get straight answers, and it's rare that the images or distinct thought processes you get from them are straightforward instead of symbolic. And then there's the reason as to why you're having these dreams." He answered.

"Malchior explained that, because I've become more powerful, my mind is automatically reaching a certain state outside of reality where I can absorb things along the timeline." She told him.

"That is true, but usually that doesn't happen unless there is either a reason, or something has triggered it. Maybe this has something to do with your purity. It could be a warning of some kind. Of what, though, we can't be sure." Rorek responded.

Raven sighed and took back her notes so she could meditate on them. There could be a lot of things it could symbolize. The woman being her demonic half, and the white dress being her new state, and then the blue green-rimmed eyes, they could be the ocean, or something like the ocean. And the dead gardens could mean…well, maybe something like she has life now but will start to die because of something. Everything eventually died, but there was something about the gardens being beautiful for a day, and then dead the next…

Swiftly she scribbled that down.

"What is it?" Rorek asked.

"Something I just remembered. The gardens were very beautiful for a single day, but then they died the next and became ugly. What do you think that would mean?" Raven asked.

Rorek's eyes widened, "It could be a warning, of something about to die soon." He then gave her a fearful look, telling her all she needed to know. These gardens could mean that the beauty of her purity might wither and die, _she_ might die.

And if that were the case, she could die, or wither, very soon.

* * *

A/N: DON'T WORRY! It's not as bad as it sounds, Raven's overestimating Rorek's expression, that's all. Okay? Just make'n sure you guys don't freak out or anything…

Anyways, wow! Lots of reviews, for the first chapter, I'M SO HAPPY! WAAAAAAA! You guys are great, really. (Sniff) Okay, anyway, I hope everyone liked the chapter well enough, I know it wasn't as packed with funnyness as the last one, but at least it has some. And if anyone out there has ever read Words Without Sound, you _know_ how much of a fan I am about confusing dreams seeping with symbolism and such. But hopefully I won't be focusing so much on writing the dreams and not explaining them as I was then. Though I think the first few chapters will have a lot of it, just to get everything set up and all. Wish me luck!

Ja


	3. Healing the Scars

A/N: Someone asked about Zacroma's character design, well here it is: She's got short, wild hair all about her head with varying colors (currently its magenta), she's fairly skinny, like Starfire, and likes to dress in spunky clothes, mostly showing off her graceful curves. The colors usually match her hair, but sometimes she likes to get wild. She's got big eyes, whose color also varies with her mood (contacts), and all different kinds of voice tones. That enough for you? Good!

Also, someone asked about the 'apocalypse' scene back at the end of chapter 1, if you'll look back around the beginning of chapter 10 of 'Spellbinder', you'll get it.

**XD Muahaha! New page break! I win!**

_And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain  
Thrilled me-filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;  
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,  
" 'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door,  
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door.  
This it is, and nothing more."_

_-The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe_

**XD**

"But, that can't be possible, can it?" Raven asked, "That I would just die for no reason…?"

"Die?" Rorek suddenly looked surprise, "No, no, that's not what I meant, I meant that your, well your purity might die. You might not be able to push back your demon side. See, death has many, _many_ different meanings, and a dead garden could pertain to just about anything. Gardens are usually full of flowers and beauty, it could mean that something will destroy you in such a way that your beauty becomes lost. But a garden can always be cleared away and re-planted with even more beautiful flowers, they don't have to stay dead." He assured her.

"And if it really means that I could die any day now?" She asked him.

"Nothing is straightforward, remember? Even the image of a human skull could mean something other than outright death. But, I suppose we should consider everything. And if that were the case the dream would be warning you against something. Maybe warning you that your demon side will kill you if you're not careful." He explained. "But just to die for no reason probably won't happen. If you were full demon and had been purified, you would surely have died. But that is called exorcism I think, and you were the one who continually strove for cleansing. The only reason you would suddenly die, that I can see, is because you're demonic blood can't handle the cleansing. But if that were the case, you'd already be dead. So I don't think these gardens mean _your_ death, exactly. Or even death at all." He told her.

"Alright, but do you think these dreams are telling me something important enough to warn the others?" She asked.

Rorek shook his head, "No, I don't think there's a need, yet anyway. It just depends on exactly what else appears." He said.

"What about…" Raven swallowed hard. She hated bringing this up, she hated even thinking about it because it made her feel so weak, but if she was going to understand these dreams, a vital detail like this couldn't be left out just because of her pride. So she took a deep breath, "What about the fact that I can't keep myself from crying every time I wake up?" She got out.

"Oh…I had, forgotten about that." He said, looking a little discomforted by this. "You said…it was like the emotion was being fed into you? Right?" She nodded, "The perhaps, perhaps it isn't _your_ emotion, it could be someone else's, someone who might be connected to these dreams in some way." He told her.

"That could be possible. It doesn't feel like my own emotions…maybe there's someone who needs my help. And soon." Raven said.

"There could be, but we don't have enough information to go by. For now," He said, getting up, "You might want to let yourself dream every other night, and continue taking notes. I'll leave you to your meditation." He said.

"Alright, thanks Rorek." Raven said gratefully. Both because he'd helped her, and because he was giving her some time alone.

"My pleasure." He said before closing the door behind him.

"Coward." A mocking voice suddenly snorted.

Rorek rounded, eyes flaming with a sudden fury. "I'll show you coward!" He hissed, grabbing his darker half by the neck and throwing him down the stairs.

"Bring it, sissy!" Malchior spat, gathering himself up for combat. Rorek lunged at him in retaliation.

**XD**

"I got a raiiiiiise!" Beast Boy's voice sang, practically throughout the entire tower.

"Good for you." Raven said airily from her book.

"Hey! You're no longer allowed to be sarcastic, you're a nice person now!" Beast Boy exclaimed defiantly.

Raven just gave him a small smirk and narrowed her eyes. The next moment he was a mouse. "Not really." She said.

"You're not suppose to be able to do that anymore either!" Beast Boy exclaimed, gathering himself up from the floor.

Malchior suddenly burst out laughing, "I remember teaching her how to do that too!" He exclaimed.

"Then you won't mind if I put all the blame upon you." Beast Boy said, getting in his face with a narrow-eyed look.

Malchior just gave him a haughty smirk, "You can, but I'd like to see you try doing something about it." He said, giving the changling's forehead a very powerful flick of his fingers.

"OWE!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"What book is that, friend Raven?" Starfire asked, looking over Raven's shoulder.

"It's Edgar Allan Poe." Raven answered.

"Poe? Hm, I think I remember that name, very disturbed man I believe. Is that a biography?" Malchior asked, coming over behind the couch so he could peek.

"No, it's his complete works of poetry and prose." Raven answered, sweatdropping.

"You mean they're actually still being sold? I don't believe it! Oh well, you humans can be so odd when it comes toliterary tastes." The dragon said.

"Has anyone seen the remote!" Cyborg suddenly yelled, running into the living room.

"Hey Cy! Guess what! I got a raise!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Help me find the remote!" He yelled.

"Why can't you just press the buttons on that TV screen thing? As far as I have learned, they do the same thing as the 'remote' buttons." Malchior asked.

"THANK YOU!" Raven yelled.

"Shut up." Cyborg grumbled.

"You're welcome, but what did I do?" Malchior asked.

"I keep trying to tell him the same thing, and yet he insists upon having the remote." Raven answered.

"I said shut up! You can't watch TV without a remote! Those buttons are just there as evil sales people trying to get you to buy into their illusions!" Cyborg declared.

"If the TV had an illusion upon it, I think I would be able to tell." Malchior said.

"I'M USING A METEPHOR!" Cyborg yelled. Malchior couldn't keep himself anymore, he started snickering. "Oh so that's how it is, is it? Well two can play at that game. Yo mama was so fat she causes an eclipse wherever she goes!" He said.

"For one, that is no insult as my mother abandoned me before I even hatched. And for another, yes she could probably create an eclipse on this world, but not because she's fat." Malchior said.

Cyborg was at a loss for words for a moment, "You know what! Whatever!" He said, he then turned to look for the remote somewhere else. "Dragons." He muttered.

Malchior turned to Raven, "Machines." He said with the same voice, though with a more sighing tone to it. Raven couldn't stop the snicker that escaped her lips.

"No one cares about me." Beast Boy pouted.

"I do!" Zacroma came up.

"Really?" he asked, hopefully.

"Sure!" She said.

Beast Boy got on one knee, holding Zacroma's hand in his, "Zacroma, will you marry me?" He asked.

"Okay!" She answered cheerfully.

Beast Boy then stood back up, put his hand around Zacroma's waist, and the two marched off like a happy couple, even though Zacroma was a little over a head taller than he was. "Bye guys! Zacroma and I are off to get married!" Beast Boy called.

Everyone heard _that_.

"SAY WHAT!" Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and even Rorek cried, all seeming to appear in the living room at the same time.

Raven couldn't hold it this time. She burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, causing everyone to look at her. Then Beast Boy and Zacroma fell to the floor in their own bawls of laughter.

"That's not cool, man." Cyborg said in irritation.

"Yeah, you shouldn't joke like that." Said Robin, who was clearly fighting against his own fit of laughter with all his might.

"Oh, so they were joking. Well that's good." Malchior said. It was probably either the way he said it, or that it was said, but suddenly no one seemed to be able to hold their laughter. Even Rorek found humor in their little prank.

_BWEEEP BWEEEEP BWEEEEEEP!_

"Aw maaaaan! And we were having so much fun too." Beast Boy complained.

"Titans, let's move!" Robin ordered. Everyone ran for the door, everyone save Malchior, who was just sort of standing their, looking airy.

"Malchior!" Raven called.

"Heel boy!" Zacroma added. Malchior twitched, and Zacroma began to run. Which was a good idea as the dragon now seemed to be after her blood.

"Get back here so I can strangle you!" He cried.

Raven let out a sigh. Once again feeling as though she was the only sane person on the entire team.

**XD**

The Titans (and Malchior) circled the building where a robotic mob boss had been discovered. They had several hostages and were demanding a ransomed for their safe return. The police didn't look too thrilled that they were there, of course. But there was nothing _they_ could do. Well, they couldn't do anything about the mob boss either, heheh.

"So what's the plan?" Beast Boy asked over the communicators.

"Let's demolish the place and send their remains to prison." Malchior said over Raven's shoulder.

"Hahaha, no." Robin responded.

"Is it just me, or do you keep following me?" Raven asked him.

"Both, actually." He answered grinning.

"Alright, Raven, you and Rorek split up and find the hostages. Once we know they're safe the rest of us will attack. Got it?" Robin asked.

"Right." She answered, putting the communicator away. She flew into the air, making sure none of the windows had a good view of her, and extended her senses to find the best place to enter the building. She phased through the wall of an unoccupied room, and glided gently to the door, making sure that she would be able to feel the emotions of anyone nearing. And hear them as well.

"'The coast is clear' I believe would be the phrase."

Raven wheeled around, "Malchior!" She hissed in a whisper, "What are you _doing_?"

"I'm following you of course. What? You're _surprised_?" He questioned.

Come to think of it, she wasn't. "Just be quiet, alright?" She whispered. "We can't let them know we're here."

"There aren't any humans around." He said. He then pulled down his scarf and took a good whiff of the air. "In fact I don't think there are any on this floor at the present moment."

"Alright good, where are they all?" She asked.

"Can't tell, but I think they're lower." He answered.

"Alright, let's find some stairs." She said, phasing through the wall, Malchior following her of course.

They found the stairs and glided down them silently, both straining their ears (and Malchior his nose) for signs of human, or robotic, life. They had gone down to the first story, which did have humans in it, but not the humans they were looking for.

"Lets grab one and interrogate him." Malchior whispered.

Raven leered at him, "The 'interrogations' of your time often involved torture." She whispered.

"My dear Raven, they _revolved_ around torture." He said. Raven sweatdropped. "Someone's coming." He said.

Raven pressed her back to the wall, expecting Malchior to do the same so that they might go unnoticed unless the men were headed for this hall in particular, but he didn't, instead he grabbed the man the instant he was in reach, like a spider snatching his pray from his hiding spot. He made sure to cover the man's mouth and crush his gun in his hand. He then pulled out an odd little implement that Raven had never seen before and made sure to show it to the guard.

"You know what this does? No, you don't, and you don't _want_ to know what this does, trust me. So if you do not want to find _out_ what this does the hard way, I suggest you tell us, in a very _quiet_ voice, where you are keeping the hostages." He said in a very smooth, dangerous voice.

Raven smacked her hand to her face. _Why me?_ She thought to herself.

The guard, thoroughly freaked out, relented all the information he had, while still staring at the wiry object in Malchior's hand. There was apparently an underground base where, not only they were keeping the hostages, but their boss friend was hanging out, prepared to escape using a shuttle when he got his money. Under the, "If you're lying I _will_ hunt you down and find you." Threat, he told them where the secret door was, how to open it, and what to do in order to turn off the security. Afterwards Malchior wound a spell around him, and then dropped the man on the ground like a heap of dead weight.

"What _is_ that thing?" Raven whispered as they entered into another empty room.

"This?" Malchior held up the odd implement, "This is the result of Zacroma being very frustratingly inept at cooking, I think that was once a spoon, and this was called a whisk at one point in time." He explained.

Raven sweatdropped.

They pressed their ears to the floor, extending their senses to try and make sure no one was below, and then they phased through the ground. "There's suppose to be a switch somewhere in the control room, right?" Malchior whispered, edging towards the corner.

"That's what he said."

"What's a 'control room'?" He questioned.

"It will have a lot of buttons and TV screens." She answered.

"They can't use a remote?" Raven let out a quiet snort of laughter in response. But then they both had to be silent because of the men walking their way.

"Hey Raven? How's it going in there?" A voice asked from her communicator, just as the guards were passing by their hall.

"What tha—sound the al-AAAAAH!" Malchior was on the two of them before either of them could get more than a few words out. He grabbed them by the necks and_ crack_.

Raven's eyes widened at the sickening sound, and she stared as the two men, now corpses, fell to the ground. "Raven? Raven?" Robin called again.

"We're doing fine, but you nearly got us caught!" She responded, ending the session. "Malchior!" She suddenly hissed.

"What?" He demanded, "I thought we didn't _want_ everyone to know we were sneaking in."

"No we don't! But we, don't, kill!" She hissed, "Why didn't you just put them to sleep again!"

"Instincts, they startled me. Besides, I _did_ put them to sleep, in a way." He answered. "And I, _do_, kill." He said without a hint of remorse.

Raven glared at him menacingly, "Not if you want to stay with u—" _Bang!_

"Raven!" Malchior cried, catching her as she fell.

It started as an unbearable pain in her shoulder, and became a source of fire running through her entire left arm. Hot blood began to pour out of the wound as she used her magic to take the bullet out. She barely heard the gloating of the guard who had caught them from behind. Malchior set her down gently and then ran after him in a blind rage, the guard tried to shot him, but the bullets seemed to barely dent the dragon's armor.

Raven forced herself to sit up, leaning her back against the wall as she tried to stop the blood flow with her hand. Her left arm laying useless on the ground next to her. Her communicator beeped again, this time it was Rorek, "I've found the prisoners! They're all safe and sound."

"Great! Okay Titans, let's move!" Robin said.

"The main base is underground," Rorek said, "Where are you right now, Raven?"

Malchior suddenly came out of nowhere and grabbed the communicator, "She's currently about to pass out from blood loss, thanks to Wonder Boy, so we'll be headed back to the tower!" He snapped. He then pocketed the object and knelt down beside her.

"I think I'll be alright." She said, trying to get up. But he forced her back down.

"I agree with you, but not unless you move as little as possible and let me take you back without a fuss." He said. He ripped off a piece of her cloak and started wrapping it around her shoulder. He then gently stroked where the wound was, dark glitter seemed to rub from his fingers and into the cloth, causing it to gray a bit. "That'll keep more blood from escaping. Come on."

"Raven? What's wrong with Raven! Is she alright!" Rorek's worried voice came from the communicator.

"She'll be _fine_ if you would shut up and stop giving away our position!" Malchior snapped, unable to turn off the object because Raven was occupying his arms.

Raven awkwardly reached for the communicator on his belt and held it to her mouth, "I'm live, you just worry about the hostages." She told him.

"Right." He responded.

The alarm for the building went off all around them, signaling that the other Titans had entered and were probably ramming their way through the place. "I guess that's our cue to leave." Malchior said. He phased through the ceiling and walls until he was outside.

Raven's strength was returning, but her energy was lessening just as much. Whatever Malchior had done, it was, if nothing else, numbing the pain of her wound in return for her strength. So she was barely aware of what was going on around her. It seemed Malchior was arguing with someone about being in control of the situation. Her consciousness was leaving her as Malchior flew into the air.

"**Perhaps if we took some of the sun-soaked soil from above they won't die."**

"**What's the use? Everything I care for dies, it doesn't matter what we do."**

"**Don't give up hope. Keep trying, you can—"**

"Raven? Can you sit up for a moment?" Asked a distinctly familiar voice.

Raven opened her eyes, gently this time. Had she been asleep? Suddenly she sat up with a gasp, "M-my notepad!" She exclaimed. Malchior instantly shoved it into her hand along with a pen and she began swiftly to scribble the distinct things she had remembered from her dream. Keeping something from dying with sun-soaked soil, inability to keep something alive with care, don't give up hope, keep trying. The last part seemed to have been cut off, but she probably had a good deal there.

It was strange, though, she felt no pain, no immense sorrow from that dream. She wasn't bursting into tears like she sometimes was. And she saw those eyes again, those blue, green-rimmed eyes. But this time they were older, wise, and definitely gentle. Whose voice did those eyes belong to though? She couldn't remember, in fact she was beginning to loose the memory of what the voices sounded like.

"Can I see?" Malchior asked. She wrote the eyes down swiftly and handed it to him. "…Interesting…" He mused, looking oddly confused. He muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'drawlies'.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, just thinking to myself. Anyway, I need to properly bandage that wound of yours." He told her, manually taking her cloak off from around her shoulders. "I think this is pretty much ruined anyway." He said.

"So is the bodysuit. Lucky I have more costumes." Raven muttered as he unwrapped the makeshift bandage. She pulled the spandex of the neck down to expose the wound and skin.

"Indeed, I need you to get your arm out of here." He said.

"Why can't you just bandage it up like this?" She asked him, feeling a little nervous.

"Because I want to see you half-naked." He answered bluntly.

_ZAP! _Malchior was flung off the bed and nearly hit the floor by the force of the lightning bolt from Raven's gem. He gathered himself back up, rubbing his bruised cheek, "Okay, maybe I deserved that." He said, not looking at all sorry though.

"Just bandage it!" She snapped.

"Alright, but I really do need you to take the sleeve off, Love." He told her. He then grabbed it and began trying to pull it down, with her fighting of course. "I am continuously being amazed by the ingenuity of your society, this fabric, for instance, is quite extraordinary. I wonder how far it can actually stretch before it will finally rip. Well I suppose that answers my question." He said, practically pealing off the now severed sleeve from her arm.

"You know, I might have been able to mend the bullet hole, but you just had to ruin it beyond repair, didn't you?" Raven snapped, holding her arm to her, trying her best to keep him from seeing it.

"Hnhn, so I did." He suddenly took her arm away from her, and then placed a kiss upon a particularly ugly scar that was there.

Raven froze, her stomach seemed to be jumping into her throat while her heart thumped in her ear. He, he knew, he knew they were there…but how? Had he seen her? Had he watched as she did that to herself? Raven's eyes were beginning to water as he continued to plant gentle kisses upon the wounds that had been put there by her own hand.

He finally stopped when it felt as though he had kissed every scar and began using a cloth (he, of course, got from nowhere) to clean off her wound. "I think I have some antibiotics in there." She said, pointing to her dresser.

"Some anti-whats?"

"Healing chemicals." She answered.

"Oh, alright." He said, going over to the dresser.

"Bottom left drawer." She told him. He bent down to look in the designated drawer, "It's a white box with a red cross on it." She told him.

"Odd." He muttered, taking out the box and coming back over to her.

She opened it up and took the alcohol. "Use this." She told him.

He took the bottle and opened it, "It smells like alcohol." He said.

"It is, it kills bacteria, which is the organism that causes infections in wounds." She explained.

"Hm, and here I thought solders were crazy for using it." He mused, dabbing the cloth with it.

Once the wound had been treated and wrapped, Malchior put the box back in her dresser drawer. "I think I'll be alright n—" She started to say, but after coming back over to her bedside Malchior suddenly pressed his lips to hers, apparently unwilling to completely finish just yet.

Gently, he pushed her back into her pillows, massaging her lips with his own and exploring her mouth with his tongue. She didn't push away, instead she slipped her good arm around his neck and pulled him closer. He began stroking her bare arm gently, caressing those shameful scares. It brought back the emotion she had felt only a few moments ago, tears seemed to seep from her eyes in tiny streams. She tried to stop them by drowning them in the kiss.

When they broke apart Malchior whipped her tears away with a gentle finger, "My sweet Raven, I want to heal the scars you continue to carry from all those months ago, I want you to be mine and only mine, I want Rorek to vanish so that we can be together without him. But I know this is a selfish wish, in a way. It would be unfair to you, and to myself I suppose. But, Raven, Sweet Raven, I want to be the one to heal these wounds, I don't want Rorek to do it for me." He whispered.

He then pulled down the other half of her sleeve so that the collar went down a lot lower than she was comfortable with, but before she could pull it back up he pressed his lips to her upper chest, the space where her heart would be. Her resistance relaxed slightly, that is until his tongue found its way to the space between her breasts. She grabbed his neck with her good hand and forced it a good length away from her so she could glare at him.

"Malchior." She growled in warning.

He gave her one of his charming smiles, "Hnhn, sorry Love, but dragon or not, I _am_, after all, male." He chuckled.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Yes you are, but you know what Starfire's magazine says is one of the only things a male is good for?" She asked.

"Breading I hope." He said. She released his neck in favor of smacking him.

"No, running errands. Now go get me some tea before I kill you." She said threateningly.

"You're wish is my command." He said, thankfully removing himself from her bed. He then bowed in his 'prince charming' manner and left her room.

"I think I'll kill him anyway." Raven grumbled to herself, twitching.

**XD**

A/N: So, how was that all? Ever have a time in writing where the characters do things you really didn't intend for them to do at first, and then find out that it works? Yeah, happens to me all the time, these characters just seem to write themselves a lot, all I'm doing is herding them along into a reasonable plot-line and setting a bunch of stuff up (Some of which I _know_ they'd kill me for if they ever came to life and found out).

Anyway, someone was asking about putting the events in Birthrite into Spellfire, I don't think it's gonna happen. Trigon's dead, and we _all_ know that the person Slade referred to as 'master' in the end was him, no ifs ands or buts. However, I _might_ put Slade into the picture as becoming an agent of the Blood Clan, with the weird 'S' on his forehead and the fire powers, but that probably won't happen until after I introduce the next big enemy. And I'm gonna stop right there because any more will spoil the surprise and utter _shock_. Er, okay not really shock but…I'm just gonna shut up now.

Alright, I think that's it, other than a comment about how great the reviews are coming. Keep it up peeps! Love yall!

Ja


	4. Voice

A/N: Aaaaah, Friday night, a night to play Dance Dance Revolution until your sick and then have to take a shower and _then_ get to writing…yeah, it rules.

**XP**

_Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,  
Sir,' said I, or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;  
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,  
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,  
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -  
Darkness there, and nothing more._

_The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe_

XD 

"Malchior! What are you doing! Where's Raven!" Rorek demanded.

"Will you calm down! I _told_ you I had everything under control." Malchior snapped right back. "If you must know, I am fixing Raven some tea, and she is currently in her room resting." He said.

"What happened!" Robin demanded.

"I'm not exactly sure, but she suffered a very nasty wound on account of a small metal arrow, but I took care of it. Seeing as how fast her body seems to heal and how well it responded to the magic I used it should be just fine by the end of the week. But in the meantime, she'll be needing a lot of rest." Malchior explained.

Most of the titans stared at him, then Cyborg said, "You know, I don't think I'm _ever_ gonna get use to all this magic stuff. I have never heard of a bullet wound healing in such a short time!"

"Yeah, well, mystics never play fair." Zacroma said, causing several of them to snort in laughter.

Malchior just raised an eyebrow at her, "Whatever," He said, shrugging it off, "I'll just take this to her if she's still awake." He said.

"No you won't, _I_ will." Rorek said, taking the cup from him with a distrustful look.

Malchior rolled his eyes. "Fine. If anyone needs me, in which case too bad you're not getting any help from me, I'll be in my room reading." He said.

"Pft, like anyone cares." Beast Boy muttered when he was out of earshot.

"Beast Boy!" Zacroma chided.

"What? It's true! I mean, come on, Rorek's our friend, _he_ isn't. Why is he even still here?" The changling demanded.

"Because we can't get him to leave." Rorek said, seeming to have the same opinion as Beast Boy.

"And we'd rather he be _here_ and not out somewhere were we, excuse me, _Raven_, can keep him in check." Robin pointed out.

"Aw, come on you guys. He's not that bad, he's just, well, different is all." Zacroma defended.

"And it would not be fair to Raven if we were to make him leave either." Starfire interjected. Rorek faltered slightly.

"Yeah! Besides, I think under that bad-boy dragon exterior he wants a friend as much as anyone." Zacroma said.

"He has a funny way of showing it." Cyborg glowered.

"I think this would be a time when Raven would come up with some wry comment about people being close-minded, but I can't think of any right now, can you?" Zacroma asked Starfire.

"No." The tamaranian shook her head.

"I'm, going to take this to Raven." Rorek said, escaping the conversation as soon as possible.

XD 

"Everything was fine until you came around! And we were much better off when you left, you should have just stayed there! Leave us alone! I hate you!"

"NO!" Raven grabbed her chest, shooting up in her bed as a sudden piercing pain shot through it. Her cry wasn't loud, but that was a mixed blessing as it felt like the pain was constricting her throat, and therefore her breathing as well. It was like fire! Screaming in her ears, clouding her vision, making her gasp and heave, forcing herself to take in air and push it out again. She could still hear those words ringing in her ears, as if they had been burned into her mind. They weren't leaving, they weren't fading away like these dreams usually did.

And they _hurt_. No, it wasn't just the pain in her chest, those words hurt more deeply than a physical wound. She didn't know why, she couldn't remember anything else but those words.

And those eyes.

They were the same, the same blue green rimmed eyes, but younger, fearful, and harsh.

This time the dream wasn't leaving, though the pain was gradually subsiding. Still, she took her notebook and wrote down the exact words that refused to leave her mind at peace, and then wrote down the memory of those blue green rimmed eyes.

So, there were two sets it seemed, maybe they represented a period of time. Maybe these words were spoken much earlier than others, and so the meaning behind the words might be in the past instead of the future. Perhaps there was something she needed to know…but it seemed fairly straightforward, "Go away" "you ruined everything" and "I hate you". But what about the pain in her chest? Was she being stabbed? And the emotional pain, was it someone this person thought she could trust?

Raven turned the page where she had written all her and Rorek's observations down and added this to it. After that though, she didn't think she could take it anymore, she took a few sips of the dreamless sleep potion and laid back down, waiting for it to take effect.

XD 

"Aw come on, just try it, _pleeeeeeeease_? I promise it's better than last time!" Zacroma begged.

Beast Boy began to sweat nervously at the dish of tofu in front of him. Now, ordinarily he would be having either Zacroma or Cyborg time him on how fast he could consume the entire bowl at once, but this was different, _this_ was Zacroma's homemade tofu. And after a near-death experience with a few of her _other_ attempts at cooking, Beast Boy was more than just a little wary of this. "Uuuuuuh…" He trailed off.

"_Pleeeeeeeeeeease_?" Zacroma begged, giving him the look that made her unbearably adorable. A look that would make any guy turn to jelly, not excluding Beast Boy.

He grimaced and took a spoonful, regarding it like a poison he had no choice but to take, and stuffed it into his mouth with Zacroma watching him intently for a reaction. He fainted.

"AIEEEEE! MEDIC! ANTIDOTE! SOMETHING!" Zacroma yelled, running around the room in panic.

"What's wrong?" Cyborg asked, running into the kitchen, "What happened?"

"I made him eat my homemade tofu!" Zacroma cried. "It didn't taste that bad when I tried it myself…" She wined.

"Of course it didn't, you made it yourself, you weren't going to find anything bad with it." Malchior said, rubbing the inside of his ear with his pinky. He took a spoonful of the stuff and sniffed it. "You overcooked a few things and put too many spices in it. If those _are_ spices." He told her.

"But, but Beast Boy he—"

"He's conscious, he's just trying to get out of eating anymore." Malchior said with an airy wave of his hand.

"Thanks a lot man." Beast Boy grumbled, getting back up off the floor.

"You know you could have just _told_ me." Zacroma grumbled, glowering at her green friend.

"Uh…" Beast Boy started sweating nervously.

"Um, is there a problem?" A voice asked from the door. Everyone turned and stared.

"Dude! Raven you should be in bed!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Heck, you should be in a hospital!"

"I'm _fine_. Do we have any Raisin Brand?" She asked, walking over to the pantry.

"Are you sure! I mean, it doesn't hurt or anything? Is it bad?" Zacroma asked.

"Yes it hurts, of course it hurts, but not that much." She answered sternly, starting to get irritated with this new treatment.

"You should still be resting." Malchior said.

"Oh and what am I suppose to do when I get hungry? Yell?" she asked sarcastically.

"Exactly!" He answered.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Alright, everyone, read my lips: I am not a child and I can take care of myself." She said in a very clear voice.

"Now you read _my_ lips: Too bad." He said, and before she could react he picked her up off her feet in one swift, fluid motion and started carrying her back up to her room.

"Malchior! You put me down right this instant!" Raven yelled, struggling against him.

"No. You are going to bed and you are going to let us wait on you hand and foot until that wound has completely closed up. And it will heal a lot faster if you do." Malchior told her firmly.

"I'll bring up your Raisin Brand." Zacroma called.

"I'm not going to yell for someone just because I'm hungry." She told him.

"Then you can use your communicator." He replied.

"No, I'm no—"

"_Yes_ you are. That spell I placed to make your wound heal faster is going to use a lot of strength in the process. You may feel alright now, but trust me, in a few moments you'll wish you had just stayed in bed." He told her, entering her room. He laid her down on her bed and took her cloak off once again.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She grumbled, falling back into her pillows.

"Hnhn, oh come on," He said, pressing his lips to the jewel on her forehead, "I thought all women liked to be pampered. Just take this time to relax, it might be good for you." He said.

"I prefer to do things myself."

"I know that, you have a very independent personality, which is one of the many things I adore about you. But just think of this as a forced vacation. It's only for a few days, so be patient." He told her.

"Room service!" Zacroma's voice called from the doorway.

"Room what? I thought you were Zacroma." Malchior called back as she opened the door.

"Ha ha, you are so funny, _not_." Zacroma said, setting Raven's bowl of cereal down on her desk. "I _know_ you know what room service is, we explained that to you just the other day when Beast Boy was trying to get Robin to consider a vacation."

"Did Robin ever agree to that?" Raven asked.

"Nope, as far as I know anyway. I've been trying to get Starfire to sweet-talk him into it, but I think she's a little inept in that department." She answered.

"Really? How so? You'd have thought with all those magazines,"

"Yeah, I know! But she keeps skipping the 'talking' part and going on to the 'making out' part, which doesn't do us a bit of good." Zacroma said with a pout.

"I think I'll leave now." Malchior informed.

"Bye, bye." Zacroma waved, but she turned back to Raven, taking Malchior's seat. "Anyway, you missed it, Beast Boy actually passed out after eating Tofu." She said.

Raven's eyes widened, "What? But I've seen him eat 3 gallons of the stuff in one setting!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah well, it wasn't the tofu _I_ made him." Zacroma said with an innocent look on her face. "By the way, your boss called, wondering if you were ever coming back, and guess who answered the phone. Come on, guess."

"He _didn't_!" Raven exclaimed, a pained expression beginning to take over her facial features.

"He did, in fact he's taken a bit of an obsession with the phone, after he used up the last of my shaving cream. He's been answering just about every call when he can get away with it. Thankfully, I was there and I had the honor of rolling on the floor in laughter upon hearing it." She said with a smile.

"I know I'm going to regret this but, what did he say?" Raven asked.

"Something like this, ahem," Zacroma positioned her hand to her ear as if it were a telephone. "Hello? No this would be Malchior…Raven? Yes she's here…No you can't talk to her… Because she needs her sleep…No she's not sick…Because she's recovering from a gunshot wound…Yes she's alright…no she won't be coming into work you imbecile!…When I feel she's good and ready…Oh she told you did she? Well in that case yes I am her boyfriend…No I'm not Rorek, I'm his dark side…Do you really want to know that?…No you cannot speak with Raven…I am _not_ waking her up…No, _she_ will call _you_…no I'm not going to tell her you called!…because she shouldn't be bothered by something so trivial…No you have to contend with me…I said no, and if you call again I will track you down and have your arm for my evening meal."

Raven smacked her face with her hand. "He _said_ that?" She asked, almost fearfully.

"He said a lot more than that, but that was the basic gist of it." Zacroma answered.

Raven buried her face in her hands, using her raised knees as a support, "I'm gonna hear it when I go back." She moaned. "Especially from Elsa."

"Who?"

"My co-worker. She's a play-goth. Looks the part, and maybe likes the same stuff, but she doesn't act it very much. She can be very annoying sometimes." Raven answered.

"Oooooooh, that type. Yeah, she'll be bugging you about that, unless she doesn't like you." Zacroma added.

"Ah, well, she's admitted to liking me…_not_ in that way! So therefore I _will_ be hearing it." Raven sighed, taking her bowl of Raisin Brand.

XD 

_The story behind the painting I drew is already told__  
__No more tearstains on the pages of my diary__  
__Tired but unable to give up since Im__  
__Responsible for the lives I saved_

_The play is done  
The curtains down_

_All the tales are told  
All the orchids gone  
Lost in my own world  
Now I care for dead gardens_

_My song is little worth anymore  
Time to lay this weary pen aside_

_The play is done  
The curtains down_

_" Where are the wolves, the underwater moon  
The elvenpath, the haven of youth  
Lagoons of the starlit sea_

_Have I felt enough for one mans deed?  
Or is it time to challenge the Ancient of Days  
And let the virgin conceive"_

_All the tales are told  
All the orchids gone  
Lost in my own world  
Now I care for dead gardens_

Raven listened to this Nightwish song with more focus than she had before. She'd heard it, many times, and she did like it, but she just hadn't given the words this much thought before. The song was called 'Dead Gardens', there was little chance it could have anything whatsoever to do with her dreams, but still, it could hold _something_ that might give her an idea.

Painting, she'd done it before, and she was quite good too, well, not _that_ good, but she was decent enough. Perhaps if she just let her brush do what it wanted, it might turn into something significant, it might not. Too bad she was out of several colors, and didn't have a canvas.

_Knock knock._

"Come in." Raven called, closing the open book in her lap so she could set it aside.

"Room service." Came Rorek's light-hearted voice.

Raven chuckled, "Been talking to Zacroma?" She asked as he brought in a plate of warmed up leftover pizza. Afrado (sp?), her favorite.

"No, _she's_ the one doing the talking." He answered, sitting down in the chair that now had the official use of being for her visitors. "It's hard to believe she's the same person we fought against those weeks ago." He said.

"She's a very good actress." Raven said.

"Yes she is, and she's been demonstrating that talent by doing an interpretative reading of one of Shakespeare's sonnets, with her own translation after each verse. Unsurprisingly, she did it in such a way that Beast Boy and Cyborg actually enjoyed it." He said.

"She mutilated it, didn't she?"

"Well I wouldn't go _that _fa-okay yes she did." He answered, causing Raven to snicker a bit.

Raven sighed, "I don't suppose you could add your magic to Malchior's and make this wound heal even faster, could you?" She asked.

"_Malchior_ could have cast a stronger spell to make it heal twice as fast, but demon or not, you're body is not that physically strong. Anything stronger could be more dangerous than its worth because that spell uses the subject's own strength to speed up the healing process. You could slip into a coma, or worse." He answered.

"I was afraid of that." She sighed, taking a few bites of the pizza. "By the way, I have more written down." She said, gesturing to her notepad.

Rorek nodded and took the pad, he flipped through the first few pages, and a rather startled look crossed his features when he read her newest entry. "'Everything was fine until you came around. And we were much better off when you left, you should have just stayed there. Leave us alone. I hate you?' well, that's…straightforward." He said, looking very awkward.

"What do you think it means? Is it some sort of coding like the last two?" She asked.

"I don't think so, it disturbs me that you were able to remember these words so vividly, and write them down. Are these exact?" He asked.

"Yes, very exact." She said. "When I woke up I felt a sharp stabbing in my stomach, it made it hard to breathe, but those words, and that voice, I can still hear it even now if I think about it." She told him.

"What does the voice sound like?" He questioned.

Raven closed her eyes, and listened closely to it in her mind, "Afraid, nervous…it sounds young as well, but it's very strange. I don't know why, but it is, like it's not fully human, but that could mean anything. And it sounds…familiar, but not to me, like the other person has known the voice for a long time. And I saw those eyes again, but they were young, harsh…judgmental." She said.

"And what about the feelings tied to this? Were there any?" He questioned.

"Yes, a deep sense of pain that went beyond what I felt in my stomach. It was like being betrayed." She said.

"By…Malchior?" He asked quietly.

But she shook her head, "No, more like being betrayed by…Starfire. A friend." She told him. "Someone I was suppose to be able to trust."

Rorek sighed deeply, looking at the notes with a grim look in his eyes. "This…concerns me. It's too vivid to be the regular prophetic dream." He said.

"You think its something else?" Raven questioned.

"Probably but…" He trailed off, "I just don't…"

"Don't what?" Raven asked.

He looked up, blinking slightly, "Oh, sorry, I was just thinking…it really doesn't make sense. To me anyway, maybe things have changed since I've been sealed. I've just never heard of this sort of case." He said.

"Should we tell the others?" She asked.

He shook his head, "No, they probably can't help much, and it would be useless to worry them. You say the eyes were young? So this might have happened in the past. So this particular aspect of the dream is just some knowledge to help us in the future I suspect. Best not to tell the others unless we _know_ something's about to happen." He advised.

"Yeah, alright. But I think we should probably tell them soon, especially if my next dream is like the last one." She said, looking at her pizza crust in thought. "Um, Rorek?"

"Yes?"

She shifted uncomfortably, she wasn't use to this sort of thing, sure she expressed her thoughts plenty of times, but not ones that seemed so fickle and full of emotional drama. But she needed to get it out, it had been bugging her for a while. "Lately it seems…well…um…we haven't really…spent time together…very much. Not since Malchior came around…" She said awkwardly.

"No, we haven't." He agreed, a sad tone in his voice.

"It seems like we can't just talk anymore without him interrupting." She said. "So, I was wondering…" He looked up at her, his eyes seemingly hopeful, "Why don't we go out sometime? By ourselves. We can sneak off the roof." She said, feeling more comfortable.

Rorek blinked, "You mean a, what's it called? A 'date'?" He asked.

"Um, yes," She answered blushing, "A date."

"Er…well there's a problem." He said, Raven looked up at him incredulously. What, did he not _want_ to go out with her or something! "The guy is suppose to ask that girl if she wants to go out." He said.

Raven's face fell and she leered at him, "Should have _known_ it would be Starfire to explain that to you. But when, exactly, were you planning to ask me?"

Now it was his turn to blush, well, she couldn't see it, but she knew it was there under his scarf, "Ummmm…."

"_Thought_ so." She grumbled.

"Alright then, how about, ah, next week sometime?" He asked.

"Sounds good." She answered, glad_ that_ was over with.

There was a bit of a pause between them, and then, "You must kiss her now, Rorek!" both of their eyes widened and they looked at Raven's open door.

"Starfire!" Zacroma exclaimed, tackling the other girl to the ground. Raven twitched. She used her magic to make the door slam shut.

"Um, next time I'll make sure it closes behind me." He said apologetically. He hesitated for a moment, but then slipped off his scarf and bent down to press his lips to hers.

It was soft and sweet, as it always was with Rorek. But he didn't kiss her quite as often, which was just one of the things that made her relationship with _him_ so different from the one she had with Malchior. While Malchior craved dominancy, Rorek preferred being a bit more recessive in the relationship. He was actually quite timid when it came to this sort of thing, which was kind of funny, but not unlikely at the same time. He was just that type of person. He was strong and powerful when it came to battle, aged and knowledgeable when it came to wizardry, and proper yet lighthearted when it came to social aspects, but he was almost too much of a gentleman when it came to relationships. He was a little romantic, in the knight in shining armor sort of way, which was just fine, she liked it. But stand him up next to Malchior's bad-boy attitude and he just seemed like, well, a 'sissy'.

When they broke apart Rorek gathered up Raven's leftovers, "Well, I guess I'll leave you to rest some more, while I go and get my ear squealed off by our two friends at the door." He said with a grimace.

"If they ask, refuse to tell them anything." She said.

He chuckled, "I'll do that." He said, exiting through the door.

Raven took in a deep breath and sighed, sinking into her pillows. This was so…so _stupid_. No, it wasn't stupid, it was frustrating, check that, it was driving her insane! _How_ can you comfortably have a good clean relationship with two—well, clean relationship with one, and a more heated relationship with the other, but still! She was sure none of Starfire's magazines could help her in this situation. You were suppose to decide on _one_ boyfriend, not keep two. And if you did, it was called cheating. This, it felt like cheating in a way, but they both knew about it. She knew they were working very hard to keep themselves from harping at her about choosing one of them. Malchior was naturally the jealous type, and Rorek, while not exactly a dominate person, still wasn't the type to 'share' something that had that much significance to him. And so they kept fighting with each other in various ways. And it wasn't going to stop until the merge was complete.

She couldn't choose, she loved them both. In different ways, yes, but she still loved them, and it was driving her insane.

**XP**

A/N: Hmmm…well well! You guys have all been doing a good job reviewing! Let's see if there's any I have a response to…(looks through them) Hm, not much it seems, but here we go!

Wrathchild: Yes Malchior is a sex god, I _completely_ agree! His tail is so _hot_! And yeah, Rorek will have a bigger part eventually. He's just getting shoved aside by Malchior because of their personality trates. IT'S NOT MY FAULT, HONEST! THESE CHARACTERS WRITE THEMSELVES!

Bishquet: You and the rest of the female population.

Crimsonsun-rk: Don't worry, Rorek will have his revenge soon enough, as you can see. MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Er, _ahem_.

Storm Front: To be honest, the white shirt _was_ just something weird at first, but then I thought it might be neat to use it (as it was random) as something more meaningful in the next story. And thank you very much for your lovely review.

Well, that's about it. thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews and keep them coming! They give me the inspiration and drive I need to keep on writing, and of course, we all want to keep me writing on this don't we? Lol, j/k.


	5. Demon Blood

A/N: Muahahaha, the plot thickens!

XP 

_Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,  
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before  
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,  
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, Lenore!'  
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, Lenore!'  
Merely this and nothing more._

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD 

"**All I wanted…was to be someone…you would call…your sister…"**

"**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

_BWEEEP BWEEEEP BWEEEEEEP!_

Raven gasped, jerking straight up in her bed, (which seemed to happen often nowadays) and sweating. Her heart was beating way too fast, she could still hear the screaming, she remembered the unfamiliar voice. That dream was too real, far too real. She could feel the knife that had been jabbed into her center, feel the magic that it worked, the power of the ritual that had been used by the one who wished her dead. Those had been her dying words, full of pain, betrayal, and sorrow.

Raven snatched her notebook and wrote down that sentence, it burned in her mind, just like the last one. This voice was different, but she had seen those blue green rimmed eyes again, and they looked the same as they had in her last dream, which was like this. This time, it was like she had been the one speaking. But the scream…the scream had come from something deep inside of _her_, not from the dream, _her_.

Wait, the alarm just went off! What was she still doing in bed! Raven tried to get up, but it was like suddenly a pair of invisible hands were pulling her back onto the bed, leaving her panting, exhausted, and her bullet wound searing with pain.

She rubbed her stomach, the pain in it had become faint now, as the after effects of the dream were wearing off. She didn't cry that time, that was a good thing, though she wanted to rather badly.

Suddenly her door opened, she looked over and found Rorek was coming to her. "You're awake?" He asked, slightly surprised. She noticed he had a note in his hand, probably one to set down beside her in case she woke up and no one was there.

"The alarm woke me up." She answered. A lie, yes, but it would be best not to worry him right now.

"You're not going to try to come with us, are you?" He asked in a wary tone of voice.

"I can't, I can barely move from my bed." She answered him, the irritation rather apparent in her voice.

"Good, don't. We'll be back as soon as we can." He said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Rorek! Come on!" Zacroma's voice called.

"I'm coming!" He yelled back. He turned to Raven, "Are you going to be a—"

"I'll be _fine_." She said in an exasperated voice, causing Rorek to smile slightly in spite of himself.

"Okay, just don't come after us." He told her sternly before leaving.

_Don't go after them, as if I had a choice!_ Raven thought, hating herself for being so frail. Malchior's spell was refusing to let her spend any energy on even getting up, much less argue with them. And the wound was almost healed too! _Sigh, why couldn't the emergency come tomorrow night?_ She thought.

Raven closed her eyes for a moment, but only to be greeted by the unpleasant questions of the newest addition to her dreams. She didn't feel like writing it down, frankly she didn't think she'd forget them anytime soon, nor would she forget the emotions that were burning inside of her, fogging up her thoughts.

Raven sighed and began to clear her mind, she really needed to meditate more often, and if that meant kicking Malchior or Rorek out of her room than so be it. She'd never even handled _one_ relationship, much less two. And she needed her space, she needed her alone times where she would cut herself off from the others, not because she was getting depressed, just because she really needed to be alone.

This wasn't working. Raven took a deep breath and gently brought herself up from the bed, waiting to see if she was going to be overcome with exhaustion again. When nothing happened, she sat on up and crossed her legs. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos." She chanted, floating only a few inches off her mattress. She had to empty herself of all worldly thoughts, of all emotions, and all of her desires. The physical world was not real, it was merely a place for the soul to possess a body, once you were able to push past the flesh, nothing in this world mattered. Everything the flesh sees would one day be lost, but the soul is eternal, the mind can forever wonder the limitless expanse. Once you were able to empty yourself, and then to release yourself of these physical bindings, infinity was possible. Nothing could touch her, nothing could harm her in any way. She was free of all emotion, of all thoughts, she was limitless.

_She couldn't talk, or rather she **didn't** talk, she just made sounds as we cleaned her, gave her food, and healed her wounds. I never got close, I was afraid to touch her, I even refused when Mother asked me to help with more than just bringing things._

_She kept, she kept **eating** herself, chewing on her fingers and trying to rip off her skin with her teeth. Mother continuously tried to teach her not to, while re-healing the wounds she placed on herself. Soon we discovered that she couldn't stop, she was thirsty, thirsty for** blood**._

That should have been the last straw, Mother should have turned her away, gotten rid of her somehow. But she didn't, again she merely treated her like a special case.

Raven's eyes shot wide open. _What was **that**!_ She thought. Swiftly she scrambled for some paper to try and write it down, but before she could her communicator seemed to turn on, she stared at it, but it just sat there making odd sounds like…like someone being hurt.

"Robin?" She asked into it. "Someone? What's going on?"

"Raven! Don't—" Robin's voice gasped. Raven's eyes widened.

"So that's where she is, is it!" Demanded an all too familiar voice, coming closer to the communicator.

"Balegor!" Raven hissed, "What the heck do you think you're trying to prove!" She demanded. "Trigon's dead, in case you haven't noticed, and you—"

"AND I AM STILL BROTHER BLOOD, _Raven_." He yelled, obviously trying his best to stay calm in spit of the raging fury that was inside of him. "Yes, Trigon may be dead, but I had yet to be stripped of my position through ritual. I am still Brother Blood in spite of Trigon's orders. I'll have you as my bride, even if I have to sacrifice each and every one of your little friends." He said, his voice took on a tone of sardonic pleasure.

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" She yelled.

"If you'd like to see them alive again, you'd better hurry up because the ritual begins at midnight." He said.

"What are you talking about!" She demanded.

"I wasn't kidding when I said I'd sacrifice your friends. I think I'll start with that spunky traitor too." He told her.

"NO RAVEN, DON'T!" Robin's voice yelled.

"Silence!" Balegor hissed, "You have one hour. Better hurry."

She heard the sound of something, probably the other communicator, hitting the ground, and then there was a rush of static. Nothing more.

Not losing any time, Raven changed her clothes and teleported into the living room. She could find out where the emergency was on the computer and go from there, hopefully.

XD 

Raven fell to her knees, panting, and gripping her left shoulder as the pain came back to it. It had taken a little too much power to teleport all the way, but she had little choice. There was no guarantee her friends would be at the exact location, which would mean it was going to take her even more time finding out where they were. And it seemed she was right.

After gathering herself back up, she took a moment to survey the area. It was a children's play park, and everything seemed normal. It had a swing set, jungle gym, slides, a few of those little animals on huge springs that you'd ride, and of course a marry-go-round. It all seemed so quiet too, normal. Illuminated by street lamps and surrounded by select trees and a hiking trail into a forest behind her.

The forest was probably where they would be, somewhere anyways. She would start there.

"Raven?"

Raven spun around swiftly, a ball of black lightning ready in her hands in case the unfamiliar voice was hostile. But then she saw the silhouette of a cloaked figure and she let her guard down. The pair of points on top of the head told her who it was, "Batman!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing. Where's Robin?" He questioned. "And the others? Why aren't you with them?"

"An old enemy named Balegor somehow managed to kidnap them when they came to investigate the disturbance. _How_ he did that, I have no clue. He was a bungling idiot before, and he had a source of power then. But we've destroyed the source so he must be working with someone else again. As for why I'm not with them, they didn't let me come because I am currently recovering from a bullet wound." She answered.

The pair of white eyes widened slightly and then narrowed, "In that case you should still be in bed. Let me handle this." He said.

Raven crossed her arms over her chest, "No way, you don't know what's going on and you're liable to be in more danger than I am, seeing as how you lack any magical prowess. Besides, it's me Balegor wants, this is my fight and no one else's." She told him plainly. "Now you answer my question."

"Very well. I've been trying to track down a certain circle that have been using human sacrifices in order to gain more power. I just recently discovered that there would be a very…involved ritual taking place in Jump City, but when I tried to contact you, no one answered. So I came here." He said.

"You were very fast in getting here."

"I had been tracking them for a while, I was just outside the city when I found one of them and interrogated them." He told her.

"I don't know what the ritual is, but I do know that they're planning to use the others to do it, and it's going to take place at midnight. If we're going to save them, we might as well work together." She said.

He nodded in a reluctant agreement, and then turned his attention to the marry-go-round. "There," He pointed, "That's where he said the entrance would be." He said.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" Raven exclaimed. Her dark energy engulfed the marry-go-round and caused it to fly up out of the ground, revealing a tunnel large enough for two men. Without a word, Raven flew down the tunnel, Batman following her, using his grapple to keep himself from falling to fast in case the distance was too far.

"Sewers, of course." He muttered in disgust.

"The circle you've been chasing is called the Blood Clan," Raven explained as they swiftly made their way down the tunnel. "Balegor, also known as Brother Blood, is their supposed leader. But we defeated their master, Trigon, only a few weeks ago. They can't possibly have gathered enough power to pose a threat so soon." She said.

"Trigon, isn't that your father?" Batman questioned.

"Yes." Raven said. Her voice had such a menacing tone in it that not even the great Batman was willing to press the subject.

"What does he want now?" He questioned.

"I'm not _entirely_ sure. There's a prophecy that says Brother Blood and Trigon's Chosen would wed and conceive a child to bring about the apocalypse, but now that Trigon's dead the prophecy should have been destroyed. Brother Blood claims that this ritual will make that happen, but I don't see how." She answered. Suddenly a sphere of blood red light shot straight at them, on instinct Raven pulled up her shield, causing the blast to dispel. "Sanguineus Factus Spiritus, Factus Fulmineus!" She chanted. Pure lightening began to charge in her hands, granting her its power to manipulate and control. "Jump!" She ordered. Without hesitation the dark night did so and Raven filled the entire tunnel with the destructive charge. Several cries of shock and pain echoed through the tunnel, telling her where they were.

"New trick?" Batman asked as she dispelled the lightning around her hands.

"I have more." She answered, flying towards the source of their attack.

Three priests had apparently been sent to guard what looked to be a doorway of some kind. They were still alive of course but only one of them was still conscious. So Batman grabbed him. "Where are you keeping the Titans?" He demanded. But the priest only gave him a week glair.

"Here, let me try." Raven said, feeling more and more testy by the minute, she grabbed him and looked him in the eyes, **"Tell us this instant!"** She ordered, her eyes glowing red with her anger.

The priest's face twisted in fear and realization. "Th-the dungeons! They're being kept in a stone room!" He stammered.

"All of them?" She questioned.

"N-n-no! Th-the dragons are s-somewhere else!" he exclaimed.

"Dragons? What dragons?" Batman questioned.

"Malchior and Rorek, I'll explain later. Where are they then?" She turned back to the priest.

"I don't know! Th-the woman took them!"

"Woman? What woman?"

"Th-the tainted woman, sh-she has the dragons, she was the only one powerful enough to control them." He gasped out. "P-please s-spare me Lady Raven!" He begged.

Raven huffed out her exasperation and tossed him aside. She gestured her hand to the door, engulfing it in her black energy, and flung it to the other side of the tunnel.

"We'll need a map of some sort." Batman said. Raven turned back to the priest, who instantly tossed a red gem to her.

They had not walked inside for a moment before Raven suddenly collapsed onto the floor, panting and sweating in sudden exhaustion. She grabbed her shoulder, trying to help the pain by applying pressure to it. "Raven? Are you alright?" Batman questioned, kneeling down beside her.

"I'm fine." She said, waving his hand away. "Just, give me a minute." She said. If she was going to get through this, she would _have_ to take off Malchior's spell. It was draining far too much energy. And besides, the wound was healed enough. "Retexo." She murmured.

Pain shot through her shoulder and arm, but her strength was returning to her. She pulled herself together and continued on, refusing Batman's offers of help.

**XD**

Raven panted, holding herself as she tried to rest against the wall for a little. She was still far too weak from the wound to continue fighting against the priests, at least Batman was there as well. Though he would have surely died a long time ago had he tried taking the fortress on by himself, his stealthy attacks were good when they had the element of surprise, and by casting a shield around him when he was about to be killed by a spell, the team effort was much easier for her to deal with. But it was still leaving her all but breathless.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can go on like this." Raven confessed.

"How long have you had to recover from that wound?" Batman asked her, peering around the corner to make sure they were okay to rest.

"A few days." She answered.

"Impressive, I'm surprised you're still standing. Here, drink some of this." He said, holding out a canteen for her.

She sipped the spicy liquid, almost choking on it. "This isn't water!" She gasped.

"No, but it'll give you more strength." He said.

"I didn't know you were an alchemist." She said, taking a few more sips.

"I'm not, I prefer science to sorcery." He informed.

Well, whatever it was, it helped quite a bit. She stopped panting and felt like she had enough energy to proceed. "We should be at the dungeons soon." She said, checking the jewel. She held it close to her eye and let its magic flow into her vision so that she could see its information.

"Good. Which way?" Batman questioned.

"This way." She answered, turning to the right.

"Is that it?" Batman questioned as they approached a door where several guards were positioned.

"Yes."

"Halt! Who goes there!" Demanded one of them, preparing a spell. Batman threw several of his boomerangs (Baterangs?) at them while Raven prepared to cancel their spells.

It all seemed to happen so fast. Raven had only a moment to realize they were surrounded before she was shot in the back with several blood arrows, all going through her back and out her front, causing her chest and stomach to become covered in blood the next moment. She fell to the ground, fighting against a darkness that was threatening to consume her. She could hear Batman crying out for her as he fought as best he could against the collective magic of the Blood Clan. But soon he would be dead, she would be dead, and her friends would all be sacrificed in only a quarter of an hour. And what of Rorek and Malchior? Would they be sacrificed too? Where were they now?

Hot tears welled up in her eyes, how could she have let this happen? They had come so far, so far, she couldn't let her friends be killed. Everything had happened so fast…

**You want to kill them, don't you?** A voice questioned in her mind. **These people, they claim to serve our father, and yet they commit such foul crimes against us, we should torture them until they beg for death, and then death is what they shall receive! They dare harm those that we love! Do they think they will not suffer the concequences of these actions? Do they think that they can defeat us? Such fools! We shall kill them all!**

_Who, who are you?_ Raven asked.

**I am you, Raven, I am the demon inside of you. The natural will to survive has awakened me, but I have become cleansed, as cleansed as a demon can be. Your happiness is my happiness, your sorrow is my sorrow, and your love is also my love. We are one and the same, accept me and you can save your friends.**

_How do I know I can trust you?_

**Do you trust yourself? As I have told you, your will is also mine. I am not another person inside of you, I am you, and you will still have your own control.**It answered. **But you must hurry, or your body will not allow the transformation.**

_Alright! Give me the power to save my friends!_ Raven answered finally.

Raven's eyes shot open, she could see Batman kneeling beside her, his blood mixing with the pool of her own. He was fighting with all his might to stay conscious before the haughty looks of their enemies. Raven pushed herself up just enough so that she could see her blood drawing itself back into her body. No, it was moving with a life of its own, becoming dark and full of power as it twisted and turned, engulfing her in its embrace as she pushed herself up off the ground.

She could feel her wounds mend themselves, she could feel her blood boiling with power, shifting her body, changing her, giving her a power she had always feared and dreaded. Her muscles became firm and coursing with unimaginable strength, she felt lighter, faster, more agile, and more powerful. Her hair turned black, her skin became white as snow, a second set of eyes opened from above her brow, glowing red like her first set. A pair of fangs grew from her jaw, and they were aching to be used.

When the blood dispersed, returning to her body, she looked down at herself. Her costume had turned completely black, the gold changed to silver, and her rubies became darker. Her claws were itching to be used, and she knew exactly what to use them on.

The tormented screams and cries of pain felt like a morbid kind of music to her ears, the warm blood of human mixed with demon tasted bittersweet on her lips, but the power to crush a man's skull with her bear hands, to be able to rip them apart like paper dolls, it was this power that caused excitement to rise inside of her. She had never been able to accomplish this, had never known real strength like this. Her enemies couldn't even touch her, their spells seemed to bounce off of her skin as if it were made of silver.

Soon, all of them had either fled, or lay dead before her, their blood being absorbed into her own body to fuel her and give her power. She turned slowly towards Batman, who was regarding her warily from the side, having to hold himself as he was still on the ground. She walked over to him and laid one clawed hand upon his shoulder, **"No need to fear me, mortal. I wash myself of my father's evil and kill no innocence. You see only the body and power of a demon lord." **She told him. She filled him with purified human blood and took his wounds into her being, where they were healed by her body's new chemistry.

"You'll forgive me if I have a hard time seeing you as an ally." He said standing up.

"**You of all people should understand that darkness is not always so unholy."** She said. She turned and gestured her hand to the door. It broke and flew into the dungeons at the force of her power.

"I don't claim to be innocent myself." He said.

"**I can certainly understand that. Therefore you should understand that I fight with you as Raven. Though, not the Raven you know, perhaps as Dark Raven then."** She said.

"It'll be pointless to argue with you, and we don't have much time." Batman said.

"**Then take this and find the Titans. I will see about the Tainted woman."** Raven said. She held her hands up and called forth her powers to form a red crystal blade. She held it out to Batman, **"You don't have to trust this body, but I am going to ask you to trust _me_."** She told him.

"Robin had better have a decent explanation for this." He muttered, taking the sword reluctantly.

"**I doubt he will be able to tell you everything, especially in the small amount of time that we have."** She informed, turning to go the other way. **"But that sword should easily dispel any magic that tries to harm you, and you should be able to destroy solid stone with it if the need arises."** She said.

"Thanks, I think." Batman said under his breath as the demon girl disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

**XD**

"Is it fixed yet!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"You know what? _Maybe_ you should just sit down in the corner and be quiet for a few minutes!" Cyborg snapped. "I am _working_ on it! But it's hard to do anything without proper tools. It needs to be a little smaller." He said, holding the screwdriver out to Zacroma. She took it, made the necessary changes, and handed it back to him.

"I'm just asking…" Beast Boy said.

"You've been asking enough, Cyborg needs to concentrate." Robin told him.

"I need a small wire here." Cyborg said, pointing. "As small as you can get it."

"What type of metal?" Zacroma asked.

"Aluminum." He answered.

"Uuuuuh, dunno if I have that…" She said, looking at her gem.

"Can't you make it?" Beast Boy questioned.

Zacroma gave him a, 'you're kidding right?' look. "Noooooo, all _I_ can do is manipulate it. Why do you think I have this gem? It holds different metals for me to use when I need them." She said.

"Well, I guess steel would work just as well, but you'll need to be careful about putting it there." Cyborg said.

"Steel I can do." She told him, waving her gem over the broken communicator. A small blue light came from it, gently turning into an itty bitty wire that attached itself between the requested parts.

"Perfect! Alright, now I think we're getting somewhere!" Cyborg said triumphantly.

"What do you think is happening to our friends?" Starfire asked in a worried voice.

"You'd think those two would have been able to wipe the floor with that dork! Where'd that freaky lady come from!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Hey, did you notice that they—" Robin began, but was interrupted.

"Robin! Are you in there?" Asked a stern, deep voice that he knew all too well.

"Batman! What are _you_ doing here!" He demanded, running over to the stone door and glass window.

"I'll explain later. For now it looks like you need some help, step away from the door." The other instructed.

"Dude, _Batman's_ here!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"It won't work, I've tried blasting it, those freaks put too many spells on it for anything to work on it!" Robin told him.

"Just do it!" He snapped in irritation. Robin rolled his eyes but stepped away from the door anyways.

Suddenly, it looked like a strange red light had made a diagonal line on the door, and the next moment the stone crumbled to the ground, revealing the Dark Night himself holding a sword that looked to be made of some red substance. "Here, _you_ take this." Batman said, shoving the sword to Robin, who was still gawking in shock.

"How did you—" Robin began.

"Your friend Raven made that sword so that I could release you. She has gone to find your 'dragon' friends. I expect a full explanation when all of this is over, but currently we should focus on stopping the ritual at all costs." Batman answered.

"Wait, Raven's here too? Oh no, this is bad!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"She shouldn't be out of bed!" Beast Boy cried, pulling on his hair.

"She should, but thanks to her you've escaped death. However, I don't think you have to worry about her very much." He said.

"How so?" Robin questioned suspiciously.

"I am not very sure myself, but she somehow managed to transform into a demon without loosing herself in the process." Batman answered.

"She _what_!" Zacroma cried, "But that's, that's not, I didn't think she was strong enough to…" She trailed off, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that everyone was staring at her.

"What do you mean?" Batman questioned.

"Well, it's never been done before, because all of the half-human children Trigon had he killed off because they were inadequate to be his Chosen. But Azar once believed that a child like this, if cleansed, could one day gain the ability to become greater than any full demon by calling upon the power of their blood, and yet still have their own consciousness as well. But it was all a theory, with a slight basis in what Azar had seen in Raven as well as the question of why Trigon always killed off his half-human children instead of just casting them away or even taking them to serve him like his other full-demon children. But, the body would have to be extremely powerful to withstand such a change, I didn't think Raven would have ever been able to do it." She answered.

"What sort of after-effects would this change have if she was?" Robin asked in concern.

"Well, at best she'd just be a little tired after changing back, but that's with a lot of practice _and_ adequate strength." Zacroma told them.

"And at worst?" Beast Boy asked, almost not wanting the answer.

"She'll die."

**XP**

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFHANGER! Yes, I know I'm evil. BIG ENEMY IN NEXT CHAPTER! Betcha'll are even _more_ confused about those dreams now! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, anyway.

Not much to say about reviews, I mean, most of you are like 'this is cool! Update!' A little less demanding, and a little more reviewing please! J/k! I know you guys are doing your best, or _are _you?


	6. Judora

A/N: ALL HAIL SHINY THINGS!

**XP**

_Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,  
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.  
Surely,' said I, surely that is something at my window lattice;  
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -  
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -  
'Tis the wind and nothing more!_

XD

"**Where is she? Where is the tainted one?"** Raven's silky smooth voice questioned. The priestess she held could barely answer, she trembled violently with fear and could only point down the hall.

"T-t-there, Lady Raven, d-d-down the hall." She stammered out in a squeaky voice.

Raven tossed her aside like dead weight and continued on down the hall, licking her fingers of the priests' blood. This tainted woman could be a problem, especially if she had Malchior and Rorek held hostage. Perhaps a different approach would be effective.

Instead of throwing the door aside as she had become accustomed too, Raven gave it a push, forcing it open for her to step through.

The room smelled strongly of blood, yet the stains seemed to have been washed off. It was circular, and the ceiling above portrayed a mural of the different kinds of demons, a portrait of Raven as she was now but in a black dress was in the center of it. The walls also held tapestries, the largest favoring that of a hangman. There were shelves upon shelves of glass containers in all shapes and sizes with potions, there were books, desks of alchemic tools, a series of sacrificial implements hanging upon a section of the wall, and a door at the far back where Raven sensed Malchior and Rorek were being held. In the center of the room was a hole that seemed to contain a vat of green flames, and above the hole hung a cauldron, bubbling with the foul stench of blood and poison.

And there, before the caldron, stood a woman, wearing a tight emerald black dress with high slits in the side to expose her legs. Under the top of the dress was a blouse that had large, blood red sleeves which were bound to her arm by criss-crossing black string. The woman's hair was held up by a thick ponytail, and fell down completely straight and almost to the floor. It was black, but with a green tent that resembled her dress, and Raven could make out the long points of flesh on either side of her skin, revealing that her ears had been lengthened. Accompanying her was a large dark green snake with a blood red underbelly, wrapped around her and looking at the potion from her shoulder.

When Raven entered, the snake turned its beady black eyes towards her, and then lowered its head in a bow. The woman herself, then turned around in one fluid motion which ended in kneeling on the floor before her. "It is an honor, my lady." Her voice, cool and dripping with venom, filled the room.

"**Are you the tainted one?"** Raven asked.

"I am, Lady Raven." She said, still not daring to look up at Raven with her eyes. "I am your most loyal servant." She said. "I had hoped to be the one with the honor of freeing you from that human shell, but I suppose Balegor was able to do it, in spite of his bungling." She said. Finally she raised her face to her 'mistress' displaying a pair of blood-red slits. Suddenly, a surge of unexplainable hatred coursed throughout Raven's being, causing her to want, more than anything, to see that woman's blood upon her hands.

"**He was."** Raven agreed, forcing her emotions to calm as she stepped forward to the woman. She didn't have time to let her emotions get the better of her. **"And what of the dragons?" **She questioned.

"Ah, yes, Balegor has told me of your…ah, attraction. But, my lady, please understand that it is beneath you to think of such creatures as more than mere playthings. As I'm sure Balegor has told you, we need a being as powerful as their combined bodies will provide in order to resurrect Trigon." She said with the utmost respect in her voice.

Raven's hand shot for the woman's throat, and the same moment the snake latched on to her arm, but the instant it came in contact with her blood it shrieked and released her again. Raven brought the woman up closer so she could look into her eyes. "My-my lady?" She choked in confusion and, perhaps, fear.

"**I'm not sure I know what it is, but there is something about you that I really _loath_ with every fiber of my being. Who are you, woman?"** Raven hissed menacingly.

"I-I am your most loyal servant! I am the greatest of Trigon's priestesses, Judora, the Black Magus. My lady, I want nothing more than to serve you!" She gasped.

Raven's eyes widened at the sound of the name. Why, _why_ did it seem so familiar! And why did she hate this woman so much? Could _she_ have been responsible for her birth? Did Raven know her from her Father in some way? What was it?

She wanted to find out, but now was hardly the time, **"My most loyal servant? Are you now? How, then, can you claim to serve me, and yet commit such crimes against me? How can you be my servant when you have just confessed to be _Trigon's_ priestess? If you want nothing more than to serve me take your life and the lives of all who claim to be of the Blood Clan. I will have nothing more to do with your unholy sect!"** Raven threw the woman into her shelves of books.

But Judora brought a dark shield over herself before suffering any real damage and was able to gather herself back up. "So, you _haven't_ come back to us. I didn't think such a demon could have been cleansed." Her voice hissed as she prepared a blast of dark energy.

But Raven laughed at her, **"Do you really intend to fight me, woman? My own father's blood courses through your veins from his demon child that you fused yourself with, I only need to pierce your skin and I could do much worse to you than kill you."** She said.

Judora's eyes widened, "You, you possess the ability to manipulate blood? That can't be possible! Only one person has ever been able to—"

"**I don't much care about you're little, 'this is impossible' speech. Tell me where the dragons are now, or else I shall torture you until you beg for death."** She threatened.

But the woman smirked, "Aren't you forgetting something? Your other little friends are still here, and midnight has passed, the ritual has been complete. Your dragons are now under my control. I only need to merge them and then we can resurrect Trigon. Even if you kill me now, they will still be under my spell, and therefore will turn against you. It would be much easier if you merely rejoined your father. You would rule over all humanity, you could chose whatever other male you wished for! And I would be your servant always." She said.

"**Do you think I'm stupid? I've made sure that my friends will be alright. I would sense it if their blood were being spilled, and I don't. You've failed, Tainted one. And the only thing I wish for you to be right now is my midnight snack."** Raven hissed, preparing a spell of power.

"NO! I never fail! Never!" She shrieked, her flawless face became twisted with fury as she called forth her own power. A sickening mixture of blood red and emerald black surrounded her being.

"**Do you mean to do battle with me? So be it."** Raven said, launching her power at the woman the same time she did.

XD

"Don't let them escape! We can use them during the next moonless night!" Balegor cried in fury.

Batman whirled and threw a bomb at the priests still coming after them. They dispelled its effects with magic, but seemed unable to do any harm to them either.

"Where did Raven go!" Robin demanded.

"After your friends, I said that already." He snapped irritably. "I don't know where she went or where they are. Only she knew how to use this." He said, holding out the jewel when they found a good resting spot where the priests ran right by them.

"Let me see that." Zacroma said. She took the jewel and held it to her eye. "Aaaaaah. Alright, its picking up a pair of powerful active forces in that direction, if we head down this hallway and take the second right, we should—"

"There they are!"

"Alright let's start running." Cyborg suggested.

XD

"**You can't defeat me, woman."** Raven hissed, towering over her fallen opponent, her dark energy force still surrounding her hands, **"A mere Tainted, did you really think you could slight me and get away with it?"**

Judora forced her face up, it was splattered with blood from the pool she was making, and she glared at Raven as she began to absorb it. "I can't possibly hope to defeat you as you are," She spluttered, "But you seem to have forgotten about my familiar." She said. Raven's eyes narrowed and she turned, but not soon enough to shield herself from the snake's attack.

It had been preparing a spell of its own all this time, and only now did it open its mouth to release it, blasting Raven away from Judora and against the already destroyed shelf of books. It didn't hurt, it was just the impact, but suddenly Raven felt her power being drained away from her. Her strength was diminishing rapidly, her second set of eyes closed while her hair changed to its original color, as did her skin.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Raven badgered herself over and over. Why didn't she just kill Judora when she had the chance! Why hadn't she paid more attention to that stupid snake! Because she'd become an arrogant demon, powerful yes, but far too sure of herself.

And now she had very little left, hardly enough to move the books she had crashed into off of her. But then, Judora was probably in the same state, maybe even worse. It was that snake she'd have to worry about.

Raven set her jaw in a firm line, and forced the books off of her, pushing herself up and beginning to summon what was left of her strength. She was about to pass out, she knew it, but if she could hold on for long enough to free Rorek and Malchior, they could probably take care of the rest.

She had expected a look of triumph to greet her when she arose, but instead the woman, still swimming in a pool of her own blood, stared at her. Her expression was that of utter shock, disbelief, and most of all, recognition. "_YOU!_" She shrieked in a high, cracking voice, "How, how did you, no! This cannot be! You _can't_ be, you _can't_!" She cried. "This isn't possible!"

"I don't know, who you are, or _what_ you're raving about," Raven huffed, "But I'm not going to let you win." She said. She turned her attention to the snake, who looked to be preparing another attack, and called forth what was left of her magic to kill it. She ended up stunning it with a bolt of her black lightening, but at least it wouldn't be attacking her.

"You, it isn't you, no, you're different, you're…" Judora muttered, not even noticing what Raven had done to her precious snake. Their eyes locked, ruby slits to sapphire, and Judora's eyes widened. "No, it is you, he used you, he," Her expression then turned into one of sardonic glee, she then began gathering herself up, laughing almost hysterically. Raven just stared at her, wondering if she had gone mad. "This is too perfect! The Great Avelona! Trigon's chosen! You have become that which you hated the most! A _demon_! And not just any demon, oh no, the very lady who was to birth the apocalypse!" She cried, still laughing unceasingly.

"You're insane." Raven grumbled, not even giving her another moment as she staggered towards the door at the back.

"Oh, don't worry, _My Lady_. You've not seen the last of me." Judora said. Raven turned towards her, but Judora was merely teleporting herself somewhere else. It wasn't a good thing, but at least she hadn't been planning to attack Raven again. She hardly had any strength left at all.

The door, thankfully, opened without her having to break it down. She practically fell into the room, finding cages upon cages of sleeping animals, all of different kinds, but mostly reptilian creatures. "Rorek? Malchior?" She called, thought it would be of little use. They were probably asleep as well, and she was on her last bit of energy. She fell to her knees, and then to the floor. She just needed to rest a bit, yeah, just a little…

"Raven! Raven!" a voice seemed to shriek, jerking her back to consciousness like having a hammer come crashing down on her head.

"She's dead! Oh friend Raven!" Starfire's voice bawled as Raven was shifted from her face-down position on the floor to a sitting up position. A pair of fingers pressed to her neck.

"She's not dead." A deep, collected voice informed.

"Uh, guys, the animals are waking up…" Beast Boy's voice said worriedly.

Batman pressed a canteen of that spicy liquid to Raven's lips, she opened them and willingly drank it until the taste became overwhelming. But it had done its job, her eyes fluttered open and she could see all her friends, and Batman, looming over her. "M-Malchior, Rorek." She gasped out.

"Are they in here?" Robin asked. "Malchior! Rorek!" He called.

"Mph, right behind you, Wonder Boy." Grumbled a familiar voice.

The titans all turned around to find Malchior, and Rorek, in separate cages along the wall against the door. And they looked like they were just waking up too.

"You're alright!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"Glorious! Now we can go on home!" Starfire exclaimed.

Malchior looked at the cage bars, and sweatdropped. "Really, this _is_ insulting." He said, he grabbed two of the bars and bent them back easily so that he could step through. "And who's this?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Batman, "And why is he holding my woman?" He questioned.

Raven took a deep breath and forcefully pulled herself together, "I am _not_, your woman." She huffed. "Thanks." She said to Batman as he stood back up.

"Don't mention it." He said. "I take it you two are brothers?" He questioned Malchior and Rorek, who looked at each other, and then at Batman as if he were insane.

"Brothers? Us? You _must_ be joking." Malchior snorted.

"Uh, Batman, this is Malchior and Rorek, we don't have time to explain but they're two halves of the same whole, yin-yang style." Robin said.

"Right, yeah, can we _leave_ now!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Not until I slaughter that, _woman_." Malchior hissed as he helped Raven up on her feet. "And by the way, why aren't you still in bed?" He questioned.

"If I had stayed in bed you'd have been sacrificed to resurrect Trigon." Raven snapped, having to hold on to him to steady herself, the room was spinning again, and it was also starting to sparkle with emerald lights.

"What in the—" okay maybe it wasn't just _her_.

There was a bright flash that blinded everyone for a second, and then all of the cages and animals were…well, _gone_. And Raven suddenly found herself in a dragon sandwich.

"You know, there _is_ such a thing as being overprotective." She muttered.

"I'm afraid that word has still yet to find its way into our vocabulary, Love." Malchior said, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. "I suggest we start moving, that spell most likely took more than a few caged animals."

"What do you mean?" Batman questioned.

"Probably all of the Blood Clan, including Balegor and Judora, was transported with that spell, and any magic that might be holding this place up will have been canceled as well." Rorek explained. "I'm surprised the ground hasn't started to—"

Suddenly it seemed the entire earth was shaking violently, causing many of the Titans to fall to the ground in order to steady themselves. "Rorek, since you were so kind as to awaken Lady Fate, why don't you teleport us all back to the Tower now?" Malchior asked.

"What! Me alone!"

"Will you two stop arguing? We have to _move_!" Batman exclaimed.

"No _idiot_, you can use the life force of the bat man over here to fuel it. With me!" Malchior exclaimed. He shifted Raven's weight over so that he could hold her in one arm and held his glowing black hand out to Rorek, who took it with his own hand glowing white.

"Colligo Frequento Transicio!" They chanted together. Their energies merged into one another, turning silver and encompassing everyone around them as the walls and ceiling began to crumble.

XD

"**This is too perfect! The Great Avelona! Trigon's chosen! You have become that which you hated the most! A _demon_! And not just any demon, oh no, the very lady who was to birth the apocalypse!"**

Raven's eyes shot opened. She was breathing heavily, and sweating as well. She kicked the covers off of her, finding them far too warm, and rubbed her face with her hands. Avelona, _why_ did Judora call her Avelona?

She knew now, she knew. Judora was that woman in her dreams, the one that inspired so much hate and loathing within her. The one with the dark hair and black dress. And that _voice_. That voice…she knew it, somehow, she _knew_ it.

The last thing she remembered was Rorek and Malchior casting a duel-spell to transport them all home, and apparently it was successful as she was waking up in her own bed once more. How long had she been asleep?

Well, according to her window it was only just morning, hopefully Malchior hadn't caused _too_ many problems while she was asleep. Well, apparently not because he was IN HER BED!

"Mmmm, sleep well Love?" He asked, slipping his arm around her waist.

"No, not really, and _what_ are you doing in my bed? _Again_!" She demanded, bringing her hands up so she could push against his, _bare_, chest. "And where's your shirt?" She asked, sweatdropping.

"Hnhn, Love, what am I _usually_ doing in your bed?" He chuckled, rolling over so that he was on top of her. He pinned her arms down onto the bed and stared down at her, his eyes moving from her face on down her torso, surveying her like a predator would view his pray. Raven sweatdropped and rolled her eyes.

Then he 'attacked', going straight for her lips. She considered biting his tongue, but decided against it. After all, the _last_ time she did that he _liked_ it.

He groaned/growled with pleasure as he kissed her hungrily, his arms holding her close to him and his hands moving up and down her thin waist in an almost fierce manner, as if he was using every ounce of self control he had not to rip her clothes off. Then his lips finally trailed off of hers and he kissed her chin, then he pulled the collar of her costume down to expose a shoulder and started to kiss, nibble, lick, whatever, on down her neck and shoulder.

She wasn't in the mood, no she _really_ wasn't in the mood for this. Really, how could she be? Sure, most of the time Malchior knew just how to _get_ her in the mood, but after that dream, hearing Judora's voice, it wasn't happening. "Malchior," She said. She got a growl in response, so she just rolled her eyes and suppressed a sigh, "Who's Avelona?" She questioned.

"Mmmm, who?" He asked, nibbling her ear.

She let out a sigh, "Never mind, it's nothing." She said.

"No, really, who? If that's something you heard in your dreams—" he said, now looking into her eyes with concern.

"No it's…well, who's Judora? Or do you know?" She questioned.

"Judora…?" His eyes looked a little cloudy, "Oh, you mean that tainted woman?" He asked, now with a tone of loathing. "The one who _somehow_ managed to defeat and place a sleep spell on _me_, _that_ Judora? No, I don't know who she is other than my next target of slaughter."

"Well, I think, I think she's the woman, the one with the black hair and dress, that I saw in my dreams, and hated." Raven confessed.

Malchior sighed and rolled off her so that he was laying on his side beside her, arm still around her waist. "You really spoil the mood sometimes, you know that?" He grumbled. "Okay, so what's this 'Avelona' got to do with anything, or are you mispronouncing 'Avelon'?" He asked.

"No, it's a name, I think, I'm not sure. Come to think of it, that does sound like what it is." She sighed. "I don't know." She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, "I guess I should start by explaining that, somehow, I've managed to access my demon self, but without loosing consciousness of myself. Somewhat."

Malchior sat up and gave her a bemused look, "You can do that?" he asked.

"Apparently, I'm not sure how though. There was a point in time when I was nearly killed, attacked with blood arrows from behind, Batman and I were both about to die, and I heard a voice in my head, but it was my voice, sort of, my demon self apparently. She awakened on survival instinct, and then I transformed into her, a demon yet cleansed. I was able to heal Batman, and then I left him with a weapon so that he could save the others, then I went after the tainted woman to find you. At first she thought I was a demon again, like when Trigon had awakened, and she clamed to be my servant. Well, of course, a tainted human is a human who had been infused with Trigon's own blood. They can't even _want_ to be disloyal. But when I saw her face…" Raven sighed, "It was like when I saw her in my dreams, there was such a powerful feeling of loathing, I just launched at her. We battled, but I was too arrogant, I didn't kill her when I had the chance, and I forgot about her familiar, which has the ability to cast spells, like one that changed me from my demon form back into my human form. Needless to say, it was a draw. But when she saw me like this, she started babbling nonsense, I think she thought I was someone else." Raven furrowed her brow, "Maybe, this Avelona is the one my dreams have been trying to tell me about."

"It's possible, and you might have somehow tricked reality in your dreams, absorbing things from someone that you look like. A blood relative on your mother's side would be most likely. Just looking like someone isn't usually enough to create a connection in the astral plains." He said.

"I don't know if I _have_ any relatives."

"You could, I mean, you're mother had to come from _somewhere_ right? And her parents might have had another child, or her grandparents might have had other children. You have to have, even _distant_ relatives." He said.

"But the way she said it, she said, 'he used you?' and something like, 'you've become that what you most hate'." She pointed out.

"An ancestor perhaps? You don't know much about your mother's blood line, perhaps your great-great-grandmother was a demon-slayer." He answered with a shrug.

"And I'm getting visions from her life?" Raven asked.

He shrugged, "That doesn't exactly have to be true, all I'm saying is that maybe Judora thought you were your ancestor, but these dreams could be from a cousin, second cousin, or a distant aunt that's in trouble." He said.

She sighed again, "I don't know, something still doesn't feel right…" she said. "of course that could be the fact that you still don't have a shirt on."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," before she could act he had her back on the bed and his tongue back in her mouth.

"Get off!" She snapped, moving him off of her and then letting him hit the floor unceremoniously with her telekinesis.

"You know, you really need to learn how to treat me better. According to Starfire I should have dumped you the _first_ time you struck me." He said with a winy voice.

"You have the genders switched there idiot. Girls are aloud to 'strike' the guys when they deserve it. And you deserve it often." She snorted, getting up from the bed.

"So how come you never hit Rorek?" He asked with a pout.

"Weren't you listening to a word I just said? _He_ doesn't do anything to _deserve_ being smacked, hit, or thrown into a wall. _He_ is the perfect gentleman while _you_, being you, are the complete opposite." She explained slowly.

"What, so you want me to change?" he asked defensively.

She rolled her eyes skyward and heaved a sigh, "That's _not_ what I said."

"That's what it sounds like, so you prefer _Rorek's_ approach?" He asked.

"You know, _most_ guys don't make these kind of leaps, that's the _girl's_ job." She informed.

"Most guys aren't dragons and most _girls_ aren't half-demons." He pointed out. "Alright, so in plane English what are you saying?" he questioned.

"You were asking me why I slap you and not Rorek, I told you why. I only smack you when you get out of hand and you _know_ it. I'm not saying I prefer _either_ of you to the other." She answered.

"Ah, so you admit that you actually _like_ my advances, you're just resisting for the sake of resisting?" He asked, giving her a seductive smirk.

Raven rolled her eyes skyward and prayed for patience. "_No_. I am resisting for several reasons. Sometimes I'm not in the mood, it's not the right time or place, you're going too far, and then there are the times when you try something in public, when you just want to tick me off and _know_ I'm not going to let you get away with it."

"But you still like it." He teased, closing the space between them and preventing her from stepping back by trapping her with his arms. She glared up at him menacingly and braced her arms against his chest to keep him from getting any closer.

"I refuse to admit to that." She said flatly.

"Oh but you already have." He snickered, and then he threw her back onto the bed so he could pounce on her and start licking her cheekbone again.

"Malchior! If you don't get off of me this instant I will cut your hair!" She yelled.

"I'm off! I'm off! Have mercy!"

**XP**

A/N: Well, you guys did really good with that last chapter! Probably because I left you all hanging, MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, anyway. A couple of you were able to guess that the 'tainted lady' was the 'dream lady', you are correct. But NOW we have a bit more confusion to add, MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, I am evil, I know.

Miyu, and Rain I guess: MUAHAHAHA! You reviewed my story anyways, I WIN! Lol, j/k. (Ouch, throat hurts now, too much maniacal laughter… . )

KnightingGale: Aw shucks, you're gonna make me blush! Hee heee.

Raven002: Sorry, but your e-mail wasn't working for some reason and I couldn't get ahold of you that way. But my reply is: Go right ahead! Spellfire screenplay, hm, dunno how that'll turn out when Spellfire's not even close to ending, but I'm sure you've got a good idea on how to do it. Tell me how it turns out!

Hm, I think that's everything. Oh, to those who commented about Batman, well, some of you like him, some of you don't. Personally, I have no opinion, so, while he won't be around for much longer, I'm hoping that, in the next chapter, I'll have him come off enough in the middle to make everyone happy. If not, well, I CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE Y'KNOW! Also, you _will_be seeing more of Rorek soon, do not worry!

Alright, now that I've got all of that off my shoulder, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Ja ne


	7. Independence

A/N: for those of you who weren't too sure, yes, Judora _is_ the big bad villan person.

XP

_Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,  
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.  
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;  
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -  
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -  
Perched, and sat, and nothing more._

The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

XD

"And so _why_ was I not informed of your additions?" Batman questioned sternly.

"For the record, I'm _not_ an 'addition'." Malchior pointed out.

"We know!" Everyone else exclaimed in unison. Batman raised an eyebrow, but let it go for now.

"We haven't formally added them quite yet." Robin answered. Raven looked at him, Robin was radiating more animosity than usual, but was schooling it quite well. Still, it was normal for him to get slightly defensive when Batman was so much as _mentioned_, by name or not, so it was quite obvious the reason behind it.

"Still, I think you should have at least contacted me. Especially since two of your number are dragons." The Dark Night responded, his eyes shifting from Malchior to Rorek.

"Drop it." Raven snapped the moment Malchior opened his mouth. He closed it again and sulked.

"But they're good dragons, Mr. Batman! Even Sir Malchior has aided us in times of need!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Yeah! And, even though he doesn't like to admit it, Mal's our friend!" Zacroma stepped in.

"Did you just call me 'Mal', _again_?" Malchior questioned, eye twitching.

"You too, how can we trust you? From what I've heard you were the newest member of H.I.V.E., and then you joined the Blood Clan to fight against the Titans. How did you end up _being_ a Teen Titan?" Batman asked.

"Oh that? That was all a set up. I even know Raven from when I was a toddler, she wouldn't remember me of course, not exactly social. But we grew up on the same planet and were trained in the same old ways, just in different places. I was _suppose_ to be a companion to Raven when I grew up, but, ah, things change and she had to leave, so I was free to exploit my already unique talent with metal. I was also trained to be a really good actress, so that when the time came I could be a proper companion. But again, there was a problem, see she'd already found companions on her own, so instead of putting my talents to waste, I was given a mission, and that was to keep Raven from resurrecting Trigon. Unfortunately, I sorta failed in that particular part, however we defeated Trigon so it was all okay. I became the Teen Titan's enemy in order to find the Blood Clan, and when I did, well, they were all too willing to have more help, especially when it came with extra fighting abilities." She explained.

"She saved our butts too!" Beast Boy put in.

"You were raised to be my companion? I didn't know that." Raven said to Zacroma. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, ah, it really doesn't matter since I'm fulfilling that roll now anyways, along with the rest of the Titans, and besides, you never really asked." She answered. Raven sweatdropped.

"Right, speaking of which, a lot of this seems to revolve around Raven. Care to explain what's been going on?" Batman asked.

"It's a _loooooong_ story." Cyborge sighed.

"Alfred's covering for me, so I have time." Batman said. "And you can start by explaining how these two got here, or does this tie in with Trigon as well?"

"Ah, no, that's actually a completely different story." Rorek spoke up.

"Which, we do not necessarily _have_ to go into as it does not pertain." Malchior came up.

"I'd still like to know." Batman put in.

"I'm sorry, I forgot the part where I had to answer to a puny human like _you_." Malchior said, standing up. "Here's all you need to know: Raven snapped, Trigon woke up, we killed him, and now they're trying to bring him, and Raven's demon form, back. The rest you've already been briefed on, so there shouldn't be a problem. However there seems to be one, and what surprises _me_ about this is that you believe you can waltz in here and think that everyone in this room is obligated to answer to you."

"Malchior," Raven tried, not working.

"I could rip your head right off your head faster than you can blink." Malchior continued, taking a threatening step towards Batman, who merely narrowed his eyes and bristled in defense.

"Malchior, that's enough!" Robin exclaimed, but the dark dragon rounded on him.

"And you! I thought you were suppose to be the supposed 'leader' of this little club, Wonder Boy. What the #&#& are you doing bending knee to _him_! And here I was thinking you had a backbone!"

"Malchior sit down!" Raven tried again, but to no avail, she might as well have been talking to a wall.

"You're a leader, act like one! If you're gonna let this son of a #&#&# boss you around you might as well hand over your position to someone else now! Who's going to respect you past friendship bonds if you don't stand up for your own decisions?" Malchior bellowed. Raven gave up and sat back down.

Robin's jaw set firmly and he glared at Malchior, "If I'm such a leader then why don't you listen to me and shut the heck up! Let us deal with this, you have no right to talk because you're just freeloading here! You don't even _want_ to be here, the only reason you're staying is because of Raven, so you can just shut your yap and let me handle this!" He exploded.

"Then handle it like a man! I'm not saying I'm too pleased about having to live under your oh-so-mighty command, but I will admit I was starting to have some semblance of respect for you, which is about to disappear right now! Do you _really_ want me making snide remarks and allusions about this every time we so much as pass in the halls? Because if so, go right ahead and heel at your master's command like a pup, it'll give me opportunity to re-sharpen my insulting wit." Malchior said. He then went back to his seat on the arm of the couch.

They stared at Malchior, who's eyes were elsewhere as though he were now bored of this conversation and was pointedly no longer a part of it, and then all eyes returned to Robin, who was still glaring at him.

But then Robin's eyes turned to Batman, who's expression was expertly unreadable, though Raven could tell he was waiting for Robin's response. "Rorek and Zacroma are friends, they're trustworthy, I know this for sure. If you want to know how Rorek and Malchior got here, that's Raven and their business." He said.

"And why wasn't I told about all this?" Batman persisted.

"I don't have to tell you everything that goes on! You're not the boss of me anymore, I'm the leader here and I make the decisions with or without your input! And don't try threatening to pull our funds, we've got jobs before when money was tight, and most of us still have jobs, we can support ourselves now!" He answered. Suddenly the rest of his excess emotions had bust out of him.

For a moment all eyes were on him, and then they shifted swiftly to Batman. The Dark Night's expression betrayed nothing for a moment, but then his face broke into a smirk that surprised everyone, especially Robin. "Heh, finally." He chuckled, "Alright then, I'll trust your judgment. I see that you've grown up and should be treated like an adult now. In that case, think of me as your benefactor, I'm not going to pull your funds, though frankly I find the fact that you actually got jobs rather comforting. Although I hope it doesn't interfere with your top priority." He said.

"It doesn't!" Starfire put in swiftly.

Batman nodded to her, "Good. However, Robin, I want you to promise me that if you need help, you'll call me." He said, holding out his hand.

Robin stared at it for a moment, as everyone watched him, but then he took it and smirked up at Batman, "You got it." He said.

"Glorious!" Starfire cried.

"ALRIGHT!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"This calls for a par-tay!" Beast Boy declared, suddenly unearthing a box of leftover pizza that had been in the refrigerator.

"Uh, can we order some more? That's not gonna feed all of us and plus the last time I opened that box I swear something moved." Zacroma said.

Beast Boy paused, looked at the box, and then ran for the garbage disposal.

"Hey, where's Raven, and Malchior for that matter?" Cyborg asked.

"Well, Malchior sort of left a few minutes ago, and Raven just went after him." Rorek answered.

"Uh, aren't you, a little…er…?" Zacroma asked, hovering near him.

"Jealous? Of course I am." He replied, eyes trailing over to Batman who was currently being coaxed into a game of Stink Ball X-2 by the destructive duo.

"Then why aren't you going after them?" She asked.

Rorek shrugged, "It'd just be pointless, Malchior and I would just start fighting again if I interrupted. And besides, I think Raven wants to tease him for all this. No, best right now to just avoid a situation where the three of us are alone. I'm sure you can imagine the chaos that would ensue." He said.

"You know, _Malchior_ wouldn't just let you and Raven off alone, _he'd_ rush to break it up. It's not fair that he gets more time with Raven than you do, simply because you're just not inserting yourself enough." Zacroma pointed out.

Rorek frowned, more at himself than at Zacroma though. "Yeah I know…wait a moment, you were listening when Raven and I had a conversation similar to this weren't you?" He asked.

"Heheh, guilty as charged your honor. But still! Maybe Raven should just tell Malchior he needs to back off and let you in a little. I mean, I know you have plenty of squabbles, whether they be visible to everyone else or not, so arguing about it with him isn't going to help you much." She said.

"You think he'd really listen? Even if it was Raven who told him all this straightforward, he's not going to just stand back." Rorek sighed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish we'd merge soon, simply so that this entire mess would go away." He confided, rubbing his temples.

"Hm, yeah, that would be nice…" Zacroma considered, "But until then…hey! I know!" She perked up. "Why don't _I_ help you?" She asked.

"What?" Rorek blinked.

"Yeah!" She then began to rub her hands together and smile evilly, "I'm sure I could get Starfire in on it, and with the two of us conspiring with you, there's no doubt that we can get you your needed alone time with Raven! I mean, if worse came to worse, I can always tie Malchior up with iron, worked once didn't it? And if we do it right, he'll never know, even if I _do_ resort to iron. Starfire and I can use the excuse that he needs to socialize more with the rest of the group no matter how much he denies to be our friend as well!" She exclaimed.

Rorek thought for a moment, "I dunno, sounds like we'd be setting up Raven as well, and I really don't want to do that." He said.

"Hey, Rorek, allow me to let you in on a little secret about girls. We like the heat almost as much as guys, but we just don't parade that fact around. We need closure, the right atmosphere, you have to approach us correctly because we want a relationship more than heat. You have the relationship, all you need to do is set up the right mood. Understand?"

"No." He answered, causing her to facefault.

"Okay, direct translation: Raven would like you to kiss her long and passionately, but she's not going to say it out loud, and you have to set up the right mood before she'll admit it herself. I know it's hard to understand, but that's the way girls are!" She tried again.

"Oh," Rorek's face flushed. "Alright, just as long as Raven won't mind."

"_Trust_ me."

XD

"Here you are." Raven huffed, walking out into the cool night air atop the T-Tower, "Why'd you come out here?" She asked.

"Fresh air, well, as fresh as it gets in this day and age. How humans survive in these stifling conditions they've created, I will never know." Malchior scoffed airily.

Raven smiled at his back. He was sitting cross-legged not to far from her, looking out at the view of a million lights which kept Jump City still in view. She closed the space between them, knelt down, and put her arms around his neck in a hug. "That was a really good thing you did for Robin back there." She said softly, resting her head on his shoulder in between his neck and her arm.

"I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I'll admit to anything if it keeps you here." He whispered, shuddering slightly in her arms. He leaned into her, one hand coming to rest on the arm she had on its shoulder, and the other finding her head. He craned his neck over and found her lips with his own. She kissed him back, and when his tongue came into her mouth she allowed her own tongue to mingle with it and enter _his_ mouth for the first time. Malchior breathed in sharply through his nose, he pressed in harder, hungry for more. She gave it to him, and soon she found herself laying down on the ground with the warm body of a dragon pressing down on her.

It was a while before their lips parted again, and they were both panting when it had finally ended. Malchior smirked down at her, "Heh, well if I knew yelling at Wonder Boy turned you on like this I'd have done it a long time ago." He chuckled, nuzzling her neck.

Raven snorted, "Oh come on, you knew _exactly_ what you were doing when you said all of that. Admit it, you were helping him out, not yelling at him!" She said.

"Oh, so this is my reward for doing a good deed? You _do_ realize that the moment you tell me to get off of you I'm going to deny everything." He told her, raising his head so he could look at her again.

"Yes, alright, but I just want you to know what I think about you doing something like this." She told him, raising her hands so she could caress his face. She then brought it down to kiss him. Again, it was probably the first time _she_ had ever started the kiss, but this was a special occasion. She doubted even Malchior himself knew the full extent of what his actions had accomplished.

XD

"You know, with Rorek, Malchior, and Zacroma helping us out, not to mention Raven's power boost, the bad guys just don't seem very hard anymore." Cyborg observed as Mad Mod was, once again, drug into the police vehicle in a straight jacket.

"I'll be back, my duckies! Next time I'll get you!" He declared.

"I look forward to it! Maybe next time I'll actually get the chance to take a bite." Malchior called. Mad Mod looked as though he were having second thoughts about breaking out again when the car drove away.

"Either that, or Malchior the Antihero is just too weird an opponent for them. I imagine they're not use to fighting against someone who'd use the same dirty tactics they would given half the chance." Zacroma put in.

"Yeah, and I bet him continuously announcing the fact that he's not human, and never was, helps." Beast Boy said.

"I can hear you you know!" Malchior called at them. The triad faltered, and then all gave him the same unconvincingly innocent grin at the same time. Malchior sweatdropped.

"Like you mind what they're saying." Raven muttered, glowering over the piece of her cloak Mad Mod had somehow managed to get singed. Malchior looked at it and opened his mouth, "Yes I'm sure it was only the cloak that got singed and not my skin." She said before he could ask.

"Uh, I wasn't gonna ask that!" He covered swiftly. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, then what _were_ you going to ask?" She asked. _Oh no_. She thought, seeing that all too familiar glint of mischievousness in his eye. But before he could come up with something that revolved around a sexual innuendo, Robin called them all over.

"More trouble guys, it's H.I.V.E. again!" He said.

"Looks like we get to meet up with your friends." Malchior snickered to Zacroma.

"Oh boy! Time to pay Jinx back for the acid she put in my lip gloss!" She said, grinning malevolently. Everyone stared at her. "What? Oh, Mammoth developed this huge crush on me and Jinx got jealous, so it was the predictable on-going catfight as I was pretending to be a real b#& at the time." She said.

"'Pretending'?" Malchior snorted.

"Shut up!"

"Make me."

"Guys, Jump City Bridge is falling _now_!" Robin exclaimed.

XD

"So that's the rest of H.I.V.E.?" Rorek asked.

"Yeah, the one with the pink hair is Jinx, the one currently throwing abandoned cars at each other is Mammoth, and the one hacking into the power system via the bridge's nighttime lights is called Gizmo." Zacroma explained.

"Didn't you have pink hair at one time?" He questioned her.

"Yeah, but I think that was just to get on Jinx's nerves." She answered.

"Yall just beg'n to get slammed in again aren't you?" Cyborg called, announcing their arrival with his blaster, which Mammoth neutralized by making it spend its destructive power on a car he threw.

Robin came from out of nowhere right at Gizmo, slicing the metal-cased funnel he was using to get into the bridge's power supply clean off with his new sword, courtesy of Dark Raven of course.

Jinx tried to go after Cyborg, but Beast Boy interfered and tripped her up by turning into a big snake. He then wrapped her up tightly, however Mammoth came running after him.

That was when Zacroma came into play, making a big metal wall that Mammoth hit dead on instead of Beast Boy. "YOU!" Jinx shrieked. There wasn't time for any more than that, Gizmo had somehow managed to allude Robin enough to come over and stab Beast Boy with a sharp spider leg. The changeling had to transform back, his arm bleeding.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed, flying down to snatch him out of more danger.

_Then_ Zacroma was able to respond, and the realization commenced. "Zacroma, how could you! First you leave us to join that weirdo, and now you're with the Teen Titans!" Mammoth cried, pulling on his hair.

"You traitorous slut! How _dare_ you!" Jinx yelled.

"Nooooooooo! Not you Zacroma, anyone but you!" Gizmo cried.

"Oh _please_, I was never really on your side to begin with and you know it. You're just angry because I used the same trickery you would, and got away with it too!" She said. "By the way, you might as well give up," She added as Raven, Malchior, and Rorek decided to land, strategically placed so that they all surrounded the trio. "We've got you _way_ out manned, and definitely outmatched. Mystics never play fair after all, and we've got _three_ of 'em just bursting with spellfire!" Zacroma told them.

The three suddenly looked around them, and found that Zacroma was _definitely_ right.

"When did _they_ get here! And where's that Raven girl!" Jinx exclaimed, her eyes combing the sky for the last threat.

Raven faltered, "Oh for crying out loud! I haven't changed beyond recognition!" she cried.

"Actually, for someone who hasn't seen you since you wore blue and had short hair, you have." Rorek pointed out, while the H.I.V.E. members gawked.

"Uh, nice new look." Gizmo came up, rather pathetically.

Raven sweatdropped, "You're still going to jail."

XP

A/N: Sorry to anyone who might be a Jinx fan, it's just she always came off as a real b#& to me. I guess it shows. Anyway, I thought it would be funny if the H.I.V.E. members didn't recognize Raven at first. I also tried to give everyone else some action by having Raven, Rorek, and Malchior hang back a little. Wasn't that bad was it? I was thinking that the Titans sorta needed to get faced with a few of their old arch enemies, I mean, it's just unnatural for them to give the Titans a break just because Judora pops up. Yeah, anyway, as for other baddies, I have a bit of the rough draft worked out in my head, and I've planned out how I'm gonna get Slade, Brother Blood-that-was-mutilated-by-modern-TV-because-the-real-Brother-Blood-had-nothing-to-do-with-Cyborg-or-all-that-headmaster-crap, Blackfire, and even Terra. But that's all I'm gonna say on the matter, haha!

Storm Front: Ah ha! You catch on very nicely indeed. I don't think many remembered that little tid-bit. Good job in spotting it! But as for that particular question, I'm not tell'n, MUAHAHAHAHA! Okay yeah, she is, BUT I'M NOT SAY'N HOW OR WHY!

Wrathchild: Yes, she is. But that's all I'm say'n!

Troubled-ego: Heheh, oooooh nooooo, Judora's not gonna go down so easily. She'd going to be giving the Titans much hell to date.

Twead: Heheh, sorry about the no Rorek thing, but the next few chapters will make up for it, promise!

Hmmm, that seems about it. Thanks to all who reviewed! You guys are great.

PS: Sorry to those who liked Batman, but he's gone now, and he might, or might not be, back. I don't know.


	8. Heat

A/N: Does anyone but me think Auron is an odd boss to have?

XP

_Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,  
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,  
Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, art sure no craven.  
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -  
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'  
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

XD

Raven took a deep breath, braced herself, and then walked through the door whose overhead sign displayed the name of the shop as "Alabaster's". She heard the bell make a small, nearly inaudible 'ping' as the door hit it, and then 'ping' again when the door closed. The incense and dim light was familiar, almost comforting. She always liked to be in here, even while working it was a relaxing place for her. However now she was dreading what lay ahead of her. Elsa.

Raven pulled down the hood of the black cloak which was her work uniform, and looked up to where the counter was, only to see that it _wasn't_ Elsa manning it, but someone else. Mentally, Raven groaned, praying with all her might that this new co-worker wouldn't be as bad, nor worse than, Elsa, gods knew _one_ was bad enough. She then gathered herself up, and walked to the back door which said 'Employees only' to find Auron.

He was there, sorting through a new shipment of candles, and when he looked up to see who had come in, he nearly caused the entire box to spill its contents all over the floor. "Raven! Is that, is that _you_!" He exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, it's me, here to see if I still have a job, though it looks like you've found a replacement already." She said.

"Who, Justin? Gods no, he's only here temporarily while Elsa visits her once-ex-but-now-current-boyfriend in Los Angeles. Something about needing her for a movie…though if that's true it'll be _her_ who's replaced by Justin, not you." He explained.

"I suppose I should be surprised, considering all the off time I took, but the sad thing is I'm not. I can work now if you need me." Raven told him.

"Of course! But, one thing," _Here it comes_, "How'd you get your hair to grow out so fast?" He asked. Raven sweatdropped.

"Special potion I added to my shampoo." She answered.

"I see. I like it! Here, can you price those books over there, and put them up on the shelves, for me?" He asked, pointing to a box.

"Alright." She answered, getting to work.

"Oh, by the way, when I called you, er, someone said you had a bullet wound. I guess they were joking weren't they?" He asked.

"No, I did get a bullet wound. But it's healed up thanks to a few powerful spells." She answered.

"Ah, um, also…I know it's none of my business, but is this Malchior _really_ a dragon?" He asked.

_Darn._ Raven thought, she was hoping to get out of this subject. "If I say 'no' will you be able to sleep better at night? Or would you rather I say 'yes' and tell you that no, he will _not_ be having your arm for an evening snack?" She asked.

"Uh…"

"Let's just put it this way, Malchior and Rorek are two halves of the same person with their own bodies. Malchior is the dark side, while Rorek is the light. You can decide whether to believe they're really dragons or not." She finished.

The rest of her hours were relatively peaceful considering the hell she had expected to go through, with Elsa especially. Her new temporary co-worker was a collage freshmen working temporary spots whenever he could find them to get extra money and help his parents pay for his tuition. From what Raven gathered through Auron's briefing, he actually got pretty high grades and was an exceptionally hard worker. But one look at him and Raven could tell why he got the job at Alabaster's.

He had the pale skin, the black dyed hair, spiked and with white streaks here and there, he had the goatee, two lip rings, a tongue ring, and three rings on each ear (in all different places). His build was rather lean, but he was about as tall as Malchior and Rorek, though much more scrawny than they were. He wore a black T-shirt with a bloody cross on the front, huge black pants with pockets all over the place, and silver chains _everywhere_. Around his neck, his wrists, his waist, and all around his pants.

He probably appeared with the resume in his hand and was hired on the spot as well.

However, the entire day's conversation with him went like this:

Raven: Hi, I'm Raven.

Justin: Hi, I'm Justin.

Raven: I'll be your co-worker during the evenings.

Justin: Cool.

That was it. He hardly said a word at all, even to customers the only thing he said was, "Your total is (whatever)." And "Have a nice day, whatever that is."

If you could have a goth that was the polar opposite of Elsa, he was it. And to be honest, Raven found working with him a favorable reprieve. A co-worker who preferred you paid him no attention whatsoever, it was a nice change.

But the negative emotions he was constantly radiating was going to drive Raven up the wall eventually, and she knew it. And when that happened she just might have second thoughts on working with a _real_ goth.

XD

"I'm back, and could someone help me with all this?" Raven called. In a huff she set down the many bags she'd had on her person and rubbed her soar arms. The next instant both Malchior and Rorek seemed to come out of nowhere (and giving each other a bit of push-and-shove while they were at it). "That was fast. Could you help me take these up to my room?" She asked them.

"Of course.", "What, you think I'd let you do it all by yourself?" They said just as Beast Boy and Zacroma poked their heads in the hall.

"Did you need help with something Raven?" Zacroma asked as the two dragons gathered up all the bags (glaring at each other) and began the trek to her room.

"Not anymore." Raven answered (She'd sort of meant for her to carry some as well, but just shrugged it off as being something she should have expected.).

"Aw, you're so lucky! You've got _two_ hot guys who'd wait on you hand and foot if you'd only let them, some girls don't even have _one_. Too bad you refuse to exploit your power, we could have some real fun." The girl said, rubbing her hands and grinning evilly. Beast Boy just looked at her.

"Uh, I'm going back to the TV." He said, and then disappeared.

"Hey Raven!" Zacroma hailed, following Raven up the stairs. "I'm due for another hair color change, and Starfire was gonna come with me, you wanna come too? We could make it a girl's night! Starfire's got a lot of extra money, and so do I for that matter, we could go out get some popcorn and candy, then rent a few movies to watch in Starfire's room! It'll be fun!" She said.

"Sorry Zacroma, but I've got plans for tonight, being half a moon, so I think I'll pass. Maybe later." Raven answered.

"Awwww, oh okay. I'll hold you to it though! Later!" Zacroma said, running back down to the TV as Raven approached her open door.

"I see you were finally able to restock." Rorek greeted when she entered. Raven resisted breathing a sigh of relief, looked like they'd done nothing but glare at each other as everything in her room was still in tact.

"Yeah, I was able to get some stuff that was only sold in back, for _special_ customers." She said. "Seemed Auron had been holding out on me, or rather I just never bothered going in that room because it wasn't needed."

"And you being an employee could count as a '_special_ customer' correct?" Malchior asked.

"No, more like the fact that I'm a _real_ magic user made me a special customer. And also Auron's desperate to keep me as an employee, probably thinks that me being 'Raven' will draw in more customers. Sad part is, he's right." She answered. "Here," She said, picking up a few bags, "this all goes in my closet, so if you could just bring the bags in, I'll put everything up."

"I can help if you want." Rorek said swiftly.

"Uh, no, that's fine. It's a big closet, but only for one person. Thanks though." She said, going inside.

"Oh Malchior, guess what I have!" a voice called from outside the door. The dark dragon turned his eyes from glaring at Rorek to where Zacroma's dark magenta head was peeking into the room.

"What?" He asked, not really caring, that is until she stuck her hand into view, which held a new bottle of shaving cream. Previous focus forgotten, Malchior practically launched himself after her.

"Uh oh, eep!" Zacroma shrieked, running for it.

Rorek blinked, did Zacroma just do that on _purpose_? He couldn't believe it worked. "Was that Zacroma?" Raven asked, poking her head out the door to a Malchior-free room.

"Yeah, she had a bottle of shaving cream and Malchior went after it." He answered, his voice rather bemused.

"Of all the things he could obsess over, it's _shaving cream_." She muttered. "Well if you want to help, I guess you could start handing me things, get them out of the bags so I can put them up." She told him.

"Alright." Rorek said, he knelt down and began handing her jars, veils, pouches, and boxes from inside the many black shopping bags on the floor. "So, ah, how are your dreams going?" he asked, searching for subject matter.

"They're getting rather repetitive now, I mean, what I remember of them after waking up is. Even the surge of emotion is beginning to become mundane, I don't even cry anymore. I haven't had any more with particularly vivid words or pictures, check that, I _have_, but they feature that Judora woman." She told him. "Which probably means she _does_ have a connection to them somehow."

"You said she was 'tainted', right? What exactly does that mean?" Rorek asked.

"A Tainted human, well, I'm not sure how best to explain it, but basically it's a member of the Blood Clan that has absorbed and fused themselves with a demon, more precisely, one of Trigon's children, so that, in essence, they become like a child of Trigon, instead of merely injecting the blood into their system so that they only have a semblance of it like the rest of the Blood Clan. However, the Tainted are those who are like that on purpose. They're not really a part of the Blood Clan, more like a step up, completely in a league of their own. These are humans who were bad from the beginning, who needed no help in that department, the kind of humans that should _never_ be allowed to walk the earth, but do anyway. They are generally powerful in very dark, evil magics, and don't really care what they have to do in order to obtain what they want. In this case, they wanted more power, so they study the Book of Blood in order to learn the demon rituals. They do it themselves, they don't need any pushing, and they know exactly what they're getting themselves into. You see, these are the only humans who can survive the ritual that summons one of Trigon's own lesser children to infuse with their own bodies. There are few Tainted, but those that are out there, such as Judora, are extremely powerful, as it takes a lot of power to go through with something like that, and then if you survive, well, let's just say the result is worse than having to face the mystic and the demon at the same time in battle." She explained.

"Wow, no wonder we couldn't defeat her." Rorek mused.

"Judora's the first Tainted I've had the unfortunate pleasure of actually meeting, but for some reason I still have a suspicion that she's, _different_, from the rest. Whether it was the snake familiar, or the fact that I keep seeing her in my dreams, I don't know." Raven sighed.

"Familiar? What would that have to do with anything?"

"So far as I know, no known member of the Blood Clan, tainted or otherwise, has had one, not many mystics do in this day and age. It sort of went out of fashion I guess." She answered with a shrug. "Well, that's the last of it, lucky too. And not a day too soon either, I can start making the kethnic water tonight as it's a half moon." Raven said.

"Oh! So that's what all this is for. I almost forgot about the Slade person."

"Yeah, after Trigon and now with Judora, Slade just seems like a pushover. I also get the feeling he knows Zacroma's on our side, and is scared stiff." She mused.

"Why's that?"

"Zacroma's main power is the manipulation of metal. She can change temperature, morph it, and just about everything else with only a touch. Slade's entire body is metal, if she gets a hand on him, well, you remember what she did to the oven last time she attempted to cook." Raven explained.

Rorek visibly flinched, "I see, yes. This must be why we haven't had any notable trouble from him lately." He said.

"Yeah." Raven said, she then stretched her soar arms and stepped out of the closet, gathering the bags while she was at it. "I can just return these tomorrow, nothing wrong with them." She said, folding them up so she could put them on her desk.

"Raven?"

"Hm?" She asked, turning around, and finding Rorek only inches away from her, his scarf pulled down off his face. At first she was a little taken aback by this sudden change of mood, but then her hands fell away from the bags she was smoothing on her countertop.

She met him part of the way, slipping her arms around his neck as his went around her waist. He caressed her back, and she the side of his smooth face as they massaged each other's lips. Slow, deliberate, and sweet. The space between them closed even more as the kiss became more passionate. Raven could feel her heart begin to beat, butterflies welled up inside of her as an odd ache began to grow in the space just below her naval. She wanted more, she knew, and was having a hard time suppressing it.

It felt so strange, being the one to push forward, probably because Rorek just flat didn't make any moves passed _starting_ the kiss. She gave Malchior an inch and he went a mile, but Rorek went as far as she did, and no more, which felt somehow dissatisfying, and welcome at the same time. By now Malchior would have moved from her lips to her neck and test just how far he could push his luck, which was pretty irritating, but so was Rorek not pushing at _all_.

There was a medium, there _had_ to be a medium, she just needed to wait for it. WHY CAN'T THEY MERGE FASTER!

The kiss ended after they had gently tickled each other's tongue, and when their lips parted they were both panting a bit. "I think that was the first time we've actually kissed without being interrupted one way or another." Rorek commented.

"Yeah, shocking as my door's wide open." Raven commented, her eyes drawn to the said spot. It looked to be deserted, but she was fairly certain she saw a lock of red hair flick out of view when she spoke.

"So, ah, have you figured something out for our date? Because I have no idea how we're going to pull it off." Rorek asked.

"Well, we could secretly organize a Shaving Cream Convention, then tell Malchior about it." She answered.

"A what?"

"Uh, never mind. But I think the only way we'll be able to pull it off is to either go halfway around the world, another dimension, or promise Malchior I'll go out with him too." She sighed.

"_Or_, we could bribe Zacroma to stock up on shaving cream and get Beast Boy and Cyborg in on an all-night shaving cream fight." Rorek considered.

"She'd probably do that for free. We'd have to tell Robin what we're planning so he'll consent to letting them do it so long as they avoid carpeted areas." Raven put in.

"Right, I'll talk to Zacroma and you can talk to Robin. Let's try to keep this as low key as possi—"

BOOM!

"Well, that's foreboding." Raven muttered as they ran out to see what happened.

XD

"MY BABY! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BABY!" Cyborg cried.

"I slipped." Malchior muttered, emerging from the wreckage covered in glass and burn marks. He pinched a lock of his bangs, which had previously been supporting a small spark of fire.

"I thought the TV belonged to everyone." Zacroma said in a small voice.

"NOOOOOOOO, Oh what has happened to you my precious?" Beast Boy cried, putting his arms over the front and back of the now demolished big screen television set.

"Uh oh." Raven said, she and Rorek entering the scene only a moment before Robin did.

"WHAT HAPPENED!" He yelled.

"Raven! It had life, it was there, it spoke, now it's gone! It's gone! Can you do something, please?" Beast Boy begged, groveling at Raven's feet.

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy, but, honestly, it would just be cheaper to buy a new TV." Raven said.

"I repeat, WHAT HAPPENED!" Robin exclaimed again.

"Well, ah, I was running around with a new can of shaving cream, and Malchior was running after me trying to get it, and for a while I was able to evade him by putting myself in an iron box for a space of time, then running around again. Well, that time I didn't exactly move fast enough, he snatched my gem and threw it across the room, but tried to get the shaving cream can at the same time. This happened in an odd fashion with him halfway on the coffee table, and well he lost his balanced. He tried to pick himself back up somehow, I'm not sure _why_ he thought a bit of flight magic would work, but instead of just landing on the ground he hit the TV." Zacroma explained.

"Oh. Well in that case you two get to pay for the new one." Robin told them.

"Awwww, oh well." Zacroma said, picking her gem up off the floor, "It'll be easy if I get artistic. Hey Raven, how much do figurines sell at Alabaster's?" Zacroma asked.

"Depends on amount, the metal used, the purity of the metal, and the mastery of the object. But they do sell pretty quickly, especially dragons, so I'm sure Auron would be thrilled to have another supplier." Raven answered.

"See? Problem solved!" Zacroma cheered.

"But, but, we can't get a new one, this was our baby, it was our friend, we raised it from, from a brand _new_ big screen to a much loved one. Can't we fix it somehow?" Beast Boy whimpered.

"The thing, is _dead_. It has been smashed practically to bits, let it go." Raven said. "And the problem isn't solved, Malchior is also responsible for the TV." She said, rounding on him.

"Fine, here." He said, tossing her something. She caught it and stared.

"Whoa! Where'd you get _that_!" Zacroma exclaimed, looking over Raven's shoulder.

"Oh my gosh it's beautiful!" Starfire squealed.

"You've been holding out on us man!" Beast Boy cried.

"Um, I am a _dragon_. Therefore having a horde of gold and precious jewels goes without saying. We're just lucky we have sub-space pockets and were able to keep it in spite of the whole sealing away factor." Malchior explained.

The broach was about as long as Raven's palm and half as wide. It had a brilliant iridescent opal set in gold which had a detailed pattern of many fairies bordering it, each in different positions around it, with their wings also adding to the design. It was a thousand years old, in perfect condition, and could probably pay for an entire movie theater. Especially if they got it appraised by a professional, but then it would probably go into a museum that would pay them a sum of money to display it each week.

"This is going to pay for a lot more than a busted TV." Raven said.

"Well, then it can be my rent for the next hundred years." Malchior said, smirking at Robin.

"Heh, fine by me, but don't think it'll get you out of house cleaning." Robin told him.

"D#." Malchior swore.

XD

_Blood becomes life, becomes fire, becomes air, becomes water, becomes wind, becomes earth, becomes lightning, becomes light, becomes darkness, becomes death, and death, in turn, becomes life once again. So is the endless cycle, the spiral in which no living being can escape, thought many have tried._

_Blood is the first, the liquid of the body that sustains the second, life. That which is circulated throughout the body, picking up all which is noticed by the body. This blood circulates, also, through the mind, absorbing memories, thoughts, and feelings that are relinquished to the earth through a cut in the flesh. Merely by blood, by thoughts, by being, all things can be accomplished._

_Blood is life, blood keeps life, but blood can also take life. The living blood of a dead god is poisonous to dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns alike. In turn, the blood of a dragon is coursing with magic, magic that can be made fatal to any creature. The blood of a phoenix, though, if mixed in the right potion, can also kill any and all who drink it. However, the blood of a unicorn is so pure, that it can sustain immortality in a being for a period of time, though with a high price._

_While the elements, the third entity of this cycle, can be controlled, used, and manipulated, it is not so with blood. Life and Death are the same, though not so much. To give death to the living is possible without direct use of the very entity. Destroy the body so that blood can no longer grant it life, and you have brought death. However, to give life to the dead, can only be accomplished through the use of this very power, but even if a being could do such, it is unforgivable. For the walking dead are cursed with the second life until they can die again. It is hardly any better a fate than to burn in the bowls of hell forever._

_But blood, blood is more dangerous, more powerful than either. Blood is all. Merely with a drop of a person's blood, one might obtain all their past memories, thoughts, emotions, and even the body's memory of physical afflictions and diseases. With blood, one can take the life force of another, causing death, and give this life force _to_ another, causing life. It is the first of the cycle, it controls the cycle, and to control it is to control being._

_In all of history, only one has obtained full ability to manipulate and control blood with such precision it was as if it was an element. Only one has mastered the entities of life and death, only one. A brilliant mystic, sorceress, shamanist, magician, wizard, witch, alchemist, and even _scientist_, with the ability to bend the laws of reality, to do what was thought impossible, and the only one to have mastered all forms of magic. And her name was Avelona._

Raven's jaw dropped, her hands shook as she read that last line of her book several times over. "Oh, my, god." She whispered.

XP

A/N: AHAHAHAHAHAHA! EVIL CLIFFHANGER! Now we're getting somewhere, heheh. And you know what to do to get the next chapter to come out faster? That's right, review! It's nice to know that my hard work is being appreciated. (Sarcastic voice: Yeah, you sit on your bum and press buttons, that's _really_ hard!) (Me: Shut up!)

Well, I'm kinda in a rush right now, I have work in _5 minutes_, so I don't have time to answer reviews. Sorry!

Ja ne


	9. For Now and Forever

A/N: And now, what you've all been waiting for, THE EXPLINATION! Or, at least, most of it anyway. Heh.

XP

_Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,  
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;  
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being  
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -  
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,  
With such name as Nevermore.'_

The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe.

XD

"Look! Look at it, this line right here!" Raven exclaimed, shoving the book practically in both Malchior and Rorek's faces.

"'In all of history, only one has obtained full ability to manipulate and control blood with such precision it was as if it was an element. Only one has mastered the entities of life and death, only one. A brilliant mystic, sorceress, shamanist, magician, wizard, witch, alchemist, and even scientist, with the ability to bend the laws of reality, to do what was thought impossible, and the only one to have mastered all forms of magic. And her name was Avelona.'" Rorek read aloud. "What's this have to do with anything?" He asked.

"Oh, right, it was Malchior I asked about that. Well, when I was fighting Judora, for some reason when her familiar cast the spell to revert me back into my original state, she mistook me for someone named Avelona. _This_ is Avelona! It has to be, Judora muttered something about it when she saw my demon form was able to manipulate this blood entity somehow. I'm sure this was who she was talking about, this has to have a connection with my dreams!" She explained, practically jumping with suppressed excitement. _Finally_, they were one step closer to getting to the bottom of all this!

Malchior took the book and read the next line, "'Little is known of Avelona but her name and her ultimate prowess. Most records have been destroyed, but enough was salvaged that I learned in my research that she had traveled throughout the world, healing and mending those who were thought lost, destroying dark beings who were thought immortal, and working against all darkness. Her greatest achievement was in the banishment of one of the most powerful Demon Lords, Trigon. Defeating him and sealing him away forever.'" Malchior blinked, and then looked up at Raven, who stared at the book.

"I, hadn't read that part…" She whispered.

"You told me Judora was saying that you'd become what you hated. This would explain it." He said.

"'He used you?', so that's what she meant. But what makes her so sure that _I'm_ this Avelona?" Raven asked.

"How much do you look like your mother?" Rorek asked.

"I look a lot like my mother, especially the eyes. Only she has black hair." She answered. "Why?"

"Well…."

"It's very likely that Avelona was your ancestor, on your mother's side." Malchior finished. "I mean, how much do we know about her? Only this little bit, and if Judora thinks you're her, well, it could just be that you look like her. I mean, I'm not saying reincarnation is impossible, especially if this person is what we think she is, but, I mean, well, it's _very_ unlikely that you are she." He added.

"Somehow, I think so too. But still, what if she's still alive, but needs help? Could it be possible she's trying to reach out to me because I'm her descendant, I mean, assuming all of that is true?" Raven questioned.

"That _could_ be what the dreams are about. And Judora, well, she could have been a rival of Avelona's, or just an enemy. She could even have been the one who sealed and/or killed her." Malchior said.

"However, what makes _us_ so sure that Raven _isn't_ Avelona reincarnated? But somehow Trigon had used her soul in order to create his Chosen and it's a conspiracy instead of a coincidence like Judora seems to think?" Rorek questioned. "These dreams could be symbolic of memories instead. Dreams are the mind's way of releasing information, so these could be dreams she's had in the past that she's having now." He said.

"Or memories, but how would Trigon have done something like that? You'd think a great sorceress like that wouldn't just allow her soul to be trapped by Trigon when she died." Malchior pointed out

"True, for that to happen, her soul would have had to have been sent to the same dimension she sealed Trigon in, and we can rule that out. If she's as great as the book says she is, she'd have had to put herself there, and why would she do that just so Trigon could use her?" Raven asked.

"But what if she cast a spell to be reincarnated as a descendant? What if she knew that one day Trigon would find a way to emerge? After all, it wasn't _Raven_, exactly, who destroyed Trigon, it was the half-demon souls of his failed attempts for his Chosen. Kind of ironic if you think about it, but what if she cast that kind of spell. The book _did_ say she was skilled at doing the impossible." Rorek pointed out.

"If that were the case, wouldn't she just seal herself instead? And what if she's sending me these dreams because she can't undo the spell on her own?" Raven questioned.

"Alright kiddies, let's try to agree on _something_, as impossible as that might be. Personally, I think Judora's a nutter. Besides, do you know how _old_ she'd have to be in order to know this Avelona? Old enough for her memory to be a bit bungled. She probably saw a few resemblances and put the two together without too clear a picture to go by. What do we have as proof? Judora's little spout at seeing Raven non-demon, and the name she happened to utter showing up in Raven's book. It could all just be a big coincidence and none of this has anything to do with Avelona at all." Malchior put in.

"But then again, it could be a conspiracy as well, we can't rule everything out unless we have proof." Rorek said.

"Remember the strange voices I keep hearing? One of them came from my own mouth at one time, I think whatever I'm getting is from the viewpoint of someone else. So if Avelona is connected, then somehow her dreams are becoming mine, like Rorek said." Raven put in. "Can't you two think of something? I mean, this happened over a thousand years ago, roughly anyway. That's about how long ago it's said Trigon was first defeated, that's in your timeframe, surely you'd have heard of her." She said.

The two of them looked at her for a moment, then at each other. "Well?" She prompted, "What's the problem?"

"Well, ah, know what I said about Judora's age? Well, that applies to us too." Malchior said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Our memories aren't perfect either, and when your conscious of everything that goes on around you, a lot of new memories push the old ones aside. And that is over a thousand years of new memories. I was the centerpiece of a lot of fine jewelry for a while I was worn by all manner of people, nobles, commoners, royalty, and even went around the world being passed through different cultures as well. I know a lot of languages now, and have learned a good deal of new things because of it." Rorek explained.

"So how come you were so inept with modern culture at first?" Raven questioned.

"Well, I was shipped from a place called Africa, having been made into a lovely necklace and then put on some flying mechanism I now know is called a plain. From what I understand, Africa is a 'third world' country, and isn't exactly up to speed with most technology. Well, the part I was in anyway." He answered.

"Also, some of our separate memories and information might seep into each other, adding to all the new things we remembered." Malchior put in. "I know I remember a few things that _never_ happened to me. For one I was never someone's wedding gift. I was a scholars collection item." He said.

"What about the White Magus who separated you two in the first place? Do you remember her at all?" She asked. Almost immediately, Raven knew she'd touched some kind of nerve. As one they bristled, looking uncomfortable. It was as though they could remember her clearly, and it was _not_ a very pleasant memory, for more than one reason it seemed. "Well? What's going on? What have you two been hiding?" She demanded.

"It's, not that we've been _hiding_ it, per say…" Malchior began.

"It's just the subject never really came up." Rorek added.

"Nor was there a particular need to _bring_ it up."

"And it's really not that important."

"So why don't we just stay on topic as I doubt she has _anything_ to do with all this?" Malchior finished.

Raven looked at them, eyebrow raised in suspicion. Their expressions were exactly the same, and so were their nervous postures. If there was one thing they could have done to tell her they were hiding something, it was to agree about it. "Okay, what's up? You're _both_ hiding something from me, _again_." She demanded.

They faltered.

"Um, well, it's just that," Malchior shifted.

"We think, we're not sure, but," Rorek added.

"Well, we didn't want to tell you but,"

"The Judora woman, she, well she's _very_ familiar for some reason and,"

"She said she was the _Black Magus_, so…."

"WethinktheWhiteMaguswentevilandisnowJudora." Rorek blurted out. They both braced themselves for the outburst they were _sure_ was about to come.

"That's _it_?" Raven asked, sounding exasperated. They relaxed a bit, looked at each other in amazement, and then back at her. "Okay, let's start at the beginning, somehow you know Judora, are you sure of this?" She asked.

"_Positive_." Malchior answered swiftly.

"And for some reason you think she use to be the White Magus, what makes you think this?" She questioned.

"Well…" Rorek said, thinking hard, "She was always fairly…dark. She was only called the _White_ Magus because she liked to wear white a lot, but she really wasn't the kind that smiled much. I can't really remember her very well anymore, I don't even remember her name."

"Neither of us do, those memories were split in half and fumbled up." Malchior put in. "I _do_ remember, that something happened, and she just seemed to _change_, and she turned on us, splitting us in half." He said.

"Wait, wait, wait, so you knew her _before_ she did that?" Raven asked.

Realization, and fear, dawned on both their faces, they looked at each other again. "I thought you told her!" Rorek exclaimed.

"I thought you did!" Malchior came back.

"Tell me what!" Raven demanded. They paused.

"Your turn." Rorek said.

"D# you." The other muttered.

"Out with it!" She pushed.

Malchior took a deep breath, "TheWhiteMagususetobeourlover." He got out.

Raven paused, going over that statement, and then re-evaluating Rorek's spout.

"WHAT!"

XD

"Hey _Rooooooreeeeeek_, guess what! We got a new multi-player gaaaaAAAH! What happened to you two?" Zacroma exclaimed when she found them. Rorek and Malchior looked as though they had been thrown into a ring with a bunch of pro sumo-wrestlers, and then tossed neatly into a pile outside of Raven's door, with Malchior on bottom of course.

"Mental note, do not knowingly keep any secrets from Raven, she'll find out, and pound us for it." Rorek moaned, gathering himself up with Zacroma's help.

"I'll admit I didn't expect her to take it very well, but it appears that was one secret too many." Malchior added.

"What, exactly, happened?" Zacroma asked them, her eyes wide.

"We just told Raven about an old girlfriend." Rorek explained.

"Needless to say, she didn't take it too well, mostly because we 'waited to tell her until she dragged it out of us'." Malchior put in. "I think I'm gonna need a new spine, this one's broken." He said, trying, and failing, to get up.

"You know, I know a bit of healing magic myself, and I would use it for you, if you didn't deserve this." Zacroma said, turning on her heel and walking back down the hall, arms bent behind her.

"I have a few potions in my room." Rorek muttered, staggering towards his door.

"Great, can you bring me one?"

"Heck no, you started this!"

"Grrrr, d# you, too beat up to argue." Malchior grumbled. Well, at least the upside was that, after giving him a good smack or two (or three or four or _a hundred_), Raven usually forgave him when he messed up. Hopefully she would this time as well.

XD

"_Purgo, Ratus. Accumulo Spiritus, Accumulo Iubar Lux. Aqua Factus Iubar Inriguus, Factus Spiritus_!" Raven chanted. The half-moon in the sky above her was reflected perfectly in the water of her cauldron, which was being held above the blue fires by the rim instead of the handle, allowing the water a full view of the moon's light. She spread the lotus petals over the surface so that they floated, and began the chanting again, adding a few grains of baru dust for each word, doing her best so that the dust landed inside the floating petals. Then she dipped the wax of the silver candle she'd been burning into the caldron, and began mixing up more ingredients while repeating the chant. The lotus petals were undisturbed, even when she accidentally spilt something on top of them, it seemed to miss.

Then the water began to bubble and she added the last ingredient, a handful of salt. Then the water began to stir itself, the lotus petals, each still with their pinch of baru dust, spun round and round the surface, sparkling in the moonlight. Raven stood back and waited. A slight darkness crept itself over the tower, just enough to be noticeable, but not enough for it to be unexpected. The water had stopped, the lotus petals were nowhere to be seen, but their specks of dust were still there, working feverishly to absorb all the light in the area.

Raven put the fire out with a swift wave of her hand, and then put up the sign she had made for this. "DO NOT DISTURBE CALDRON IN ANY WAY! The darkness is natural and will continue until the next full moon, so best to stay off the roof for now." She set it up, making sure that nothing would knock it over, and then, just to be safe, put a few protection and barrier spells around the cauldron. Then she gathered up all her things and went back inside, yawning.

What a _day_! First with that business with Rorek, and Malchior busting the TV, then with the _both_ of them keeping, yet _another_, secret from her (and that whole thing has about a hundred and one possibilities tied up with it alone). She'd healed them back up when she came back from work, having been able to calm down there (Justin wasn't much of a talker, but he was one heck of a listener, preferring to listen to other people's troubles than handle his own), and then she'd had to rush to get everything ready for midnight. Most of which telling both Malchior and Rorek that, no, she _didn't_ need their help, and no she wasn't still mad about the whole 'White Magus' thing anymore, she just needed some time to think it over some more.

She did _not_ want to think about it. There was only one thing that could be thought on this subject, and to go any deeper would mean one big headache. First off, the White Magus was Rorek and Malchior's lover when they were one being; secondly, Judora was the White Magus, but is now the Black Magus; and finally, Judora was going to give them all hell.

She hadn't even _begun_ figuring out how she was going to tell the rest of the Titans all this. First, she knew, they might be a little irritated at the three of them for keeping Raven's dreams a secret for this long, and second came their reactions to the whole Judora thing, which was probably not going to go over very smoothly, though she doubted anyone was going to get angry enough to transform 10 of the way into a demon and beat them all up over it. Yes, she very well could have handled _that_ better, but she'd about had it with their secrets and lies, even though they hadn't really meant to keep it from her _this_ time. Still.

Now, it was time for bed, and woe be to Malchior (who she _knew_ was going to be waiting for her) as she was _not_ in the mood, and _this_ time he was going to respect that whether he wanted to or not.

XD

"So, why'dja get _that_ bruise?" Zacroma asked.

"Don't ask." Malchior grumbled, still holding the ice-pack over the lump on his head.

"Well, anyway, I have an announcement to make!" Zacroma said, calling attention to the table, without much luck. "Okay, let's try again. Ahem, I am gonna marry Beast Boy!"

"WHAT!" Everyone exclaimed, jerking their attention to her.

"YES!" Beast Boy cheered. Everyone stared at him. "What? It's a joke!" He exclaimed.

"Okay, now that I have everyone's attention…uh, where's Raven?" She asked.

"In her room, she was up late last night and doesn't want to be disturbed." Malchior answered.

"Oh, well we can tell her when she comes down. Ahem, anyway, this coming Saturday night is going to be the Saturday to end all Saturdays! It's gonna be of da hook yo! For I, with Robin's permission of course, will be hosting the first ever Teen Titan all out Shaving Cream War! For anyone who wishes to participate, some restrictions apply." She said.

"YES!" Cheered Beast Boy, Cyborg, and, of course, Malchior.

"Prepare to loose pitifully, oh puny mortals! For I am the Shaving Cream God!" Malchior exclaimed, for all the world as if they were about to engage in a fighting competition.

"That's not all you're the god of." Zacroma snickered to the side.

"And just what's _that_ suppose to mean!" Malchior demanded.

"The rules are, we cannot have it in any carpeted rooms, the training room is also off limits, so are personal rooms, if you break something you buy it, that includes body parts, and you cannot leave the game at any time until it is over or you loose and the rest of us get to make taunting and sarcastic remarks for the length of an entire month because of it. At the end, which will be decided by Friday, tomorrow, we must line up in the kitchen and have Robin, an impartial judge, name the winner. So, who's in?" Zacroma asked.

"We are!" Beast Boy and Cyborg exclaimed.

"I would love to participate in this festive event!" Starfire exclaimed.

"I think I go without saying, as I am, of course, going to win." Malchior snickered.

"Um, I'm going to pass…" Rorek said.

"Awwwwww, come on, _please_?" Zacroma begged, giving him her cutest look. Rorek sweatdropped.

"Er, no, thanks, I'm not much of a fan."

"Ha! You're just afraid that I'll beat you! Admit it, sissy boy!" Malchior taunted.

Rorek merely looked at him, "So how _did_ you get that extra bruise, Malchior?" He asked.

"Hey! Don't change the subject, that's _my_ dirty trick!" He exclaimed.

"By the way, the losers have to clean the mess." Robin added.

"While wearing these kyooot frilly pink aprons I bought just for the occasion!" Zacroma said, unearthing said aprons. Malchior burst out laughing.

"Prepare to go _down_ yo! I an't gonna loose this time!" Cyborg declared.

"Also, if you leave in the middle, you have to clean it up all by yourself, and be the only one to wear the frilly pink apron. That's so you can't cheat out of wearing the apron, of course." She added with a wide grin.

"That's not fair, yo! You and Starfire are girls, you're not gonna mind wearing pink like we would!" Cyborg exclaimed. Both Zacroma and Malchior started making chicken sounds, and Beast Boy actually turned _into_ a chicken to puak at him. "Hey shut up! I'm not scared!" He defended.

"Then prove it! 'Real men wear pink' after all!" Zacroma pointed out.

"What? How does that work!" Malchior exclaimed.

"Well, manliness is about being tough and not caring what others think of you, so if you wear pink, it's like you don't care if you get made fun of or anything, you're gonna wear pink whether they like it or not! That kind of thing." Zacroma explained.

"I still don't get it." he said.

"Okay, whatever. _Anyways_, now we just have to see if Raven's gonna join us." She said. Everyone snorted. "Okay, yeah, fat chance. So! This event is going to require a lot of shaving cream, which, to make the game more interesting, will be spread out all over the tower in the places that we _can_ mess up, which is mostly the halls and a few empty rooms." She explained. "So, who wants to join me in getting all of it, besides Malchior as he will just start using it the instant we get to the right aisle?" She asked. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire raised their hands.

"I'm gonna regret this, I just know it." Robin muttered.

XD

_We gave her freshly killed beasts of the underground to try satisfying her blood-lust, but it didn't work. Her pointed teeth found their way into piercing the skin of others, and herself. It seems she'd rather eat herself than others, but we can't let her do that, Mother says that is worse. So she lets her drink from her own arm._

…_But Mother couldn't keep giving her blood by herself, so others who saw **her** as a special case 'donated'. I continued to keep my distance, I played with my friends and stayed as far away from **her** as possible._

_It felt like I was the only one who saw her as she really was, I was the only one who could tell that there was truly an evil inside of her that had to be destroyed or it would destroy us. I knew no one would believe me, until that day._

_We were discovered, discovered by a kingdom who had placed themselves just above us. The small bit of 'city' outside of the castle was evacuated inside the stone walls, but it did little good. Human wizards, knights, and even elves came to destroy us. They stormed the castle, killing anyone they could find while Mother tried making sure as many people were hid in the castle's secret passages as she could. She tried to find **her**, but she couldn't. They found **her**, the land-dwellers._

_Not a single one of them survived._

_Our losses were few, an entire army had stormed and tried to kill us all, there were far more of them than us, maybe even three times as many, and they had all been ready for battle. Yet we counted only 7 dead on our side, and over 5 hundred dead on their side. Because of **her**._

…_They still don't believe me! Can't they see what she is, what she can do? White Magus, what a laugh! There is nothing white about her, it's all a charade, a façade! Now that she's had a taste of the surface world, she will finally leave us in peace and her dark cloud will loom over the beings of light, but for how long?_

_She will come back, I know she will. She will become more powerful, she will only use the demons within her for her advantage. She never meant to rid herself of them. She will set them upon us, she will turn us into demons as well, or worse, she will tell the surface dwellers about us._

_Mother is a fool to trust her, and Val'hilran was never trustworthy herself, she would _help_ **her** do it! I now know what I must do, what I have to do. I will rid the world of this evil, and I shall not rest while such darkness walks the earth! By this Holy Blade passed down to me from my mother, and from her mother to her, I shall commit my life to purging this world of all evil!_

Raven shot bolt upright in bed, gasping, and clutching her hands to her chest. She could feel that stabbing pain again, the betrayal, burning sorrow of loss, of hope, seeing a form that she should have been able to call sister, walking away from her, stabbing her with her harsh words. But was this _Avelona's_ betrayed feeling, or Judora's?

The memory of the last dream she had which resembled this was still unusually clear, so she brought out her notepad and began to scribble that one down first, and then the next. She contemplated the words as she wrote them, some of the entries felt like there was a good length of time between them. Especially the one that started with, 'they still don't believe me!'.

But it made sense. What if Judora had been Avelona's adopted sister? And this place, it sounded like a sort of asylum, or something, probably for those who were unwanted in the human world. They probably took Judora in, and tried to help her. Then it might have seemed as though she was better, so they let her to the surface. But Avelona never trusted her, and it seemed she had good reason too, but what if Judora turned into the Black Magus _because_ of Avelona's betrayal? That would account for a lot of animosity between the two. But then if Judora had been so powerful, how did Avelona get enough power that records of her survived, but not of Judora?

"_You've become that which you most hate…"_, it made sense. Avelona hated demons, so she could have turned on Judora, and a rivalry had begun. _"All I wanted…was to be someone you could call…your sister…"_ She remembered that as well.

But what about the blue, green-rimmed eyes? Surely they didn't belong to Avelona, Judora would have remembered a detail like that and wouldn't have mistaken Raven for her.

Raven scribbled all of this down swiftly, and then she checked her clock. _10:15? Ye gods, I slept late!_

XD

"Hey…uh, why's it so quiet?" Raven asked as she entered the living room.

"Zacroma, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg have all gone to get shaving cream." Malchior answered.

Raven blinked, "Whyyyyyyy?" She asked.

Malchior grinned evilly, "Well, we're having a shaving cream war." He answered.

Raven's eyes widened, "So, ah, _when_ is this war being held?" She asked.

"Saturday evening." He answered. "Why, not planning to skip out are you? Come on, it'll be fun! Sissy Boy over here isn't participating because he's afraid I'll beat him, so if you joined I might actually have a challenge." He said.

"No." She said flatly. "I think I'll just disappear to Alabaster's until it's over." She said (A/N: Liar, heheh).

"Party pooper." Malchior sulked. "Well now you have to join in, sissy. I need someone I can target." He said.

"Target Zacroma, or Beast Boy." Rorek said, not even looking up from his book.

"Hm, I do need to get her back for that nick-name she decided to give me. 'Mal', of all the ridiculous…" He muttered to himself.

"Ahem, anyway, since I have you two relatively alone, I think I have a few things figured out." Raven said, holding up her notebook.

"You had another dream?" Rorek asked, shutting the book as Malchior scrambled up out of his seat to take a look.

"Not only that, but I remember something that came to me while meditating, and this dream was very similar. It was like I was reading these very words, either that, or I was writing them. I'm not sure. But I think I was remembering Avelona's diary. By the way, did Judora, if she's the White Magus, ever have an enemy?" Raven questioned.

Rorek and Malchior looked at each other. "Now that you mention it, she _did_. And, so far as I remember, was defeated by this enemy somehow. After we were split of course." Malchior answered.

"So now we have an idea of her connection to Avelona, and probably why she hates her and vice-versa." Raven assessed.

"Hang on, let me read this, you got a lot here." Malchior said. He sped-read it, the expression in his eyes wide at some parts, and then narrowed at others. He read her own assumptions, and then handed it over to Rorek. "Yes, she _did_ have demons I think, I can't remember too well. It sounds very much like it fits, but this Avelona…I don't know, something just feels…off. But everything's so fuzzy." He sighed. "And I don't know _anything_ about any underground civilization, though that might have been due to a lack of interest at the time."

"We think Judora is this White Magus, yet whenever you talk about her you seem to get this angry tone to your voice. Can you think of why?" Raven asked.

"No, other than when she changed, she changed drastically and made us hate her for splitting us up. We probably tried to kill her, but obviously that wouldn't have worked. But it does seem to fit." Malchior answered.

"Yes, but again, it's all quite fuzzy." Rorek said as he finished as well.

"So, if I was really the reincarnation of Avelona, then this whole thing is _seeping_ with irony." Raven commented with a frown. The next moment she found herself being embraced at both sides, with Rorek's arms around her shoulders, and Malchior's around her waist.

"Let's not talk about it." Malchior whispered to her ear, nuzzling his side of her neck in affection.

"It's all in the past. For now, and forever, we only love you." Rorek said.

"I love you too." She whispered back.

XP

A/N: Okay, yeah, that was a little sappy, but it isn't as bad as some TV shows.

Crimsonsun-rk: She didn't, it just happened :) heheheheh.

Storm Front: Sorry, this one's kinda an information chapter too. I'm gonna have those. But never fear! Action is soon in coming, MUAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, yeah, anyway, now you have a _lot_ more info on Avelona, well, not a lot, but more and, yeah I'm gonna stop there. PS: I have no problem whatsoever with long reviews :D

Kage no ni yoru: . Oh boy, that _would_ be worse than hell. I'LL BE GOOD, I SWEAR!

Demon:afrit: It's simple, I train my brain to come up with ideas and then get those ideas into a decent storyline, but really fast, and then I train my fingers to move as fast as my brain. Which they _don't_, but I'm getting there…Ahem, yeah, NIGHTWISH IS THE BEST BAND EVER! YAY NIGHTWISH! Heheh. Yeah, Ghost Love Score is what I listened to _a lot_ while writing Spellbinder, though for Spellfire it's just all of the songs. It's great. I think their music contributes a lot to the whole atmosphere of the story. That and writing it with a black background and white font seems to set the mood better for me. I don't know why, but it does.

Anonymous: Uuuuuh, rating? What, you think pg-13 isn't a high enough rating for this? Or do you want me to change the rating so I can write some lemons? If the latter is the case, the answer is 'no'. I will not writ lemons, as I very _clearly_ stated in the A/Ns of Spellbinder. So it's sticking with pg-13. Alright? Alright.

Well, that's about it, until next time! Ja ne


	10. Waxing Moon

A/N: GETHSEMANE IS ONE OF THE BEST NIGHTWISH SONGS EVA! _One_ of them mind, it's hard to chose a favorite from all these incredible songs.

PS: Forgot to put the escript of The Raven up first time I uploaded this, sorry!

XP 

_But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,  
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.  
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -  
Till I scarcely more than muttered Other friends have flown before -  
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'  
Then the bird said, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

_Toll no bell for me Father  
But let this cup of suffering pass from me  
Send me no shepherd to heal my world  
But the Angel - the dream foretold  
Prayed more than thrice for You to see  
The wolf of loneliness in me  
...not my own will but Yours be done..._

_You wake up where's the tomb?  
Will Easter come, enter my room?  
The Lord weeps with me  
But my tears fall for you_

_Another Beauty  
Loved by a Beast  
Another tale of infinite dreams  
Your eyes they were my paradise  
Your smile made my sun rise_

_Forgive me for I don't know what I gain  
Alone in this garden of pain  
Enchantment has but one truth:  
I weep to have what I fear to lose_

_You wake up where's the tomb?  
Will Easter come, enter my room?  
The Lord weeps with me  
But my tears fall for you_

_"I knew you never before  
I see you never more  
But the love the pain the hope O beautiful one  
Have made you mine 'till all my years are done"_

_Without you  
The poetry within me is dead_

"That's…and interesting song. Nightwish again?" Rorek asked.

"Yes. It's called Gethsemane." Raven answered, looking up from her book. "What's up?" She asked.

"Well, it's almost 9:30." He answered. Raven looked at her clock and smirked.

"Yes it is, but isn't it a little too soon?" She asked.

"Not for you. I'm going to make sure Malchior sees me leave at a different time." He answered.

"Um, you think we're, I dunno, over-planning this a little?" She questioned as she put her book up. "You think he'll get suspicious if we're too _un_suspicious?" She asked.

"Uh…well, maybe, but let's hope he's too excited over the Shaving Cream War to notice anything else." He answered.

"Alright, let me get dressed and then I'll go." She said.

"Dressed?" Rorek questioned.

"We're going out aren't we? And you might as well wear that outfit Zacroma got you for public. Just tell them you want to blend in as much as possible if anyone asks." Raven told him.

"Ah, sounds like a good idea, okay. I'll leave in about fifteen minutes and meet you at Alabaster's." He told her, exiting her room.

Raven mentally locked the door and took a deep breath. She opened her closet and, almost cringing, pulled out the box, which contained Zacroma's reaction to the knowledge that they were going out. A little black dress.

She brushed her hair out, but decided to leave it down, and then put on a pair of small danging earrings with tear-drop shaped rhinestones in them. And then put on a matching necklace which rested about an inch above the neckline of her dress. She put on her white cloak, made sure everything was hidden, and finally walked downstairs.

"I'll be at Alabaster's until the chaos has passed." She called. She heard a few grunts, and caught sight of Zacroma in the living room, who gave her a small, nearly unnoticeable wink, before she flew down the stairs, and then out of the tower.

She could hardly believe she'd just done that without any problems. Well, they did know she was going out for all this already, and it was normal for her, and pretty much everyone else, to just call out that they were leaving, which was oddly less often than you'd expect as a lot of them got schedules that didn't make them work every day of the week like she did. So this was just like another day, they knew she was leaving, she told them when she did, and then she left. Simple.

Rorek was going to have a much harder time escaping and making it seem like a casual getaway, but he seemed to have it planned, so, if all went well, Malchior need never know they went out.

Yeah right. There was a 1 in a ten thousand chance that _that_ was going to happen. Besides, when it was over they wouldn't need any more secrecy, just another _completely_ different plan of action if ever they wanted to do this again.

The waxing moon shone overhead, but it was little needed. Big City lights always granted Raven a little more than the required light to direct her flight to Alabaster's. On she flew, over the familiar billboard signs, office buildings, and skyscraper apartments, with her eyes finding all the familiar parks along the way, a group of teenagers were hanging out around the swing set of a particularly large one, probably just hanging out. And then, as she began to descend, there was the familiar violet glow of Alabaster's nighttime sign. She landed just outside the shop and went in, the familiar incense greeted her nose, as did Justin's sulky face at the front counter.

"Hey." Justin said, waving when he saw her. "'Sup?" He asked, noticing the nice dress beneath her cloak.

"Mmm, first date." She answered with a shrug as the cloak fell back over her body.

"Malchior or Rorek?" he asked.

Raven blinked, "You know about all that?" She asked.

"Yeah. Elsa couldn't go a day without bringing up theories on the subject. She talks to much, it's really annoying." He drawled, looking as though he'd like to go to bed.

"She is, but she's not a bad person, just…out there." Raven said.

"Hang on." Justin rose his hand, and then he went to help the customers that were lining up on the other side.

While he was doing that, Raven looked around. Nothing was new, but the familiar atmosphere was calming. Currently the song playing was by a band called Lacuna Coil, one Raven had heard a few songs from, but had yet to buy the CD.

"So, who is it?" Justin came back.

"Huh? Oh, it's Rorek." She told him.

"Nervous?"

"No, not really."

"That him?" He asked, nodding to the door.

Raven turned her head, sure enough there was Rorek, who, on account of having no scarf over his face, had swiftly put a hand over his nose and mouth, his eyes watering as he looked around for Raven. He was wearing a pair of rather tight-fitting jeans, and an equally tight black T-shirt with a silver dragon on the front. Zacroma had _definitely_ known what she was doing, and Raven's face was growing hot because of it. Fighting the blush, she waved him over. "Yeah, that's him." She answered.

"He's cute." Raven's eyes widened to a considerable size, and turned to look at Justin. The smallest sliver of a grin was playing upon his lips, "That's what's called a joke." He said.

"_You_ call it a joke, I call it, me reevaluating my entire perception of you." Raven said. He was unable to keep the snicker from escaping his lips.

"Hey, I," Rorek began, but had to cough a few times, "need to get out of here before I pass out." He finished.

"Sorry, forgot about the incense. Okay, quick introduction, Rorek, Justin, Justin, Rorek. He's my co-worker, he's my date." Raven said swiftly.

"Hi." Justin said. Rorek could only cough out something that resembled a 'hello' in response. "Have fun, I guess." He said. They bid goodbye and swiftly walked out of the shop.

"Alright, I think I can get rid of this now. Sorry, I didn't think about your nose." Raven said, banishing her cloak back to her room in the tower, so now she was just wearing the dress. "Um, Rorek?"

The moment she got rid of the cloak, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Only once before had he seen Raven in a dress, and that was a very long, flowing gown with a rather modest neckline. But this was different, even from the one outfit Starfire had talked her into that one time back when he was still on shaky terms with her. It was sleek, and went down to her knees, but had slits in the sides that showed a few more inches of her shapely legs. The top part had a rather low collar, with a sort of gathered cloth pinned around it for decoration, being clasped to her right shoulder by a black rose decoration. The sleeves clung to her arms and gradually flared down from her elbow to her wrists. She had on just enough jewelry to be noticed, which seemed to be the perfect amount for her, and had even put on a pair of high-heel shoes for the occasion.

Next to her, Rorek felt like he should have worn a princely tunic instead of the common garb he had been stuck in.

Raven waved her hand over Rorek's eyes to get his attention. "What? Oh, sorry!" He gasped, realizing that he had been staring rudely.

"That's okay, just making sure you're still there." She snickered, taking his arm and steering him on down the walkway.

"Raven, you look beautiful! I mean, well, you always look beautiful but this, I don't think I've ever seen you so dressed up before." He babbled, still unable to take his eyes off her.

"Yeah, well, mall-addict Zacroma strikes again. I think Starfire's enjoyed her addition the most because now she has a willing victim for 'girl time'." Raven responded. "You don't look that bad yourself." She added, after glancing at him as well. Rorek relaxed when he saw the light blush on her cheeks. Maybe he wasn't _too_ bad in comparison.

"Thanks, but I think from now on I should be the one giving the compliments. Isn't that how it works?" He asked, smiling.

"You know what? Let's forget about Starfire and Zacroma's 'date lessons' and do things our own way from here on in. So, where do you want to go first?" Raven asked.

"Hm…you know I've been meaning to check out these 'museums' you have, they sound very interesting from what I've been able to gather." He answered.

"Well, I think there's only two that are still open, we'll go to the one that closes at 10:30 first and then the one that closes at midnight for a while. Here, hang on a moment, its far so I'll need to teleport us there." She said, stopping them. She held onto Rorek's hand and closed her eyes, being sure to fix the exact location in her mind before performing the spell.

XD 

It was 11:30 at night, streets were dark in spite of the illumination the streetlamps offered, so still it was hard to see clearly the couple that walked out of the Antiquity Museum. However, both Raven and Rorek's eyes were no strangers to darkness, and could see clearly, though others might not.

It wasn't at all like being in a museum with any of the other titans, of course, usually the only reason they'd set foot in one is if you had a rampaging lunatic steeling and/or destroying stuff in it. With Rorek, however, Raven was able to enjoy it as she was suppose to. Relaxing, yet contemplating and admiring works of art and pieces of history that had much significance. She especially enjoyed the one Hangman tapestry which was said to be a real man cursed to hang in the tapestry forever. In the slightly blinking florescent lights it actually seemed as though the man in the tapestry was moving a bit. That's how astonishing the mastery was.

Rorek had probably enjoyed it more than she did though. She had to drag him out of the first museum because he just couldn't seem to stop staring at one of the portraits that depicted a single slender hand clutching an intricate silver cross. And then in the second when they found a white dress that was thought to be over 5 hundred years old laying in a sealed case. Even Raven had to admire that one. It looked to be made out of a fine silk, embroidered with tiny diamonds and decorated with slips of an indistinct transparent cloth. It was something Raven wouldn't have minded wearing, even though it probably would neither look good on her, nor fit her for that matter.

But they agreed that, while the night was still young in comparison to the time they still had, it would be a good idea to use it wisely and visit somewhere else.

"So, what now?" Rorek asked her.

"Hm, well, there is a really nice park a quarter of a mile that way. It's really nice in spite of the metropolitan environment. I bet the woods will be nice to take a stroll through, especially at night." She answered.

"Alright, let's go."

Once again, Raven closed her eyes to focus on their destination, and once again found herself and Rorek in the exact spot she'd wanted to be at. It was getting much easier to do that the more times she tried. It use to be rather hard to teleport more than one person like that.

"Wow, look at that." Rorek breathed, pointing across the lake. Raven looked, and smiled. There was Jump City Bridge, probably a mile away across the water, but yet they could still see it, the lights dancing merrily in the restless waters, and the stars seemed to be playing about it. A good ways past the bridge was the T-Tower, but they weren't exactly at an angle to see it very well. The only reason they could see the bridge was because they were standing close to the edge of a small section of the lake that ran into the park, and there were no trees to block it from view.

"Pretty, but I wish we could see more stars. Natural beauty is always so much nicer. But there are too many city lights and pollution, so the stars are only visible in the best weather." She sighed.

"Its sad what the age of man had done. Some things are amazing and wonderful, but it seems, more often than not, everything has a negative side to it." Rorek mused.

"Come on, let's enjoy what little is left of nature in this part of the world." Raven suggested, steering him over to a path that would lead them into the woods and away from the city lights.

For a while, they merely walked side-by-side, silently enjoying the other's company and warmth. The cool night air seemed to keep the mood sweet, while the moon above, though not exactly full, cast down its rays all the same, doing its best to make the night romantic as well.

"Raven?" Rorek whispered, finally breaking the silence.

"Hm?" Raven asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why…why do you always keep your arms covered like that?" He asked. Raven stopped walking, and so did he. The lamp above them was giving the scene far too much light, but really, there was no getting around it.

Raven bit her lip, "I…um…" She tried to speak, but she couldn't. She couldn't look him in the face. Surely he knew, after all, she remembered when he'd found out, when Robin had told him, he had to know why…what was there.

"I mean, I see a lot of girls without sleeves sometimes, Starfire for example, and Zacroma also have varying outfits, not all have sleeves. But it seems like everything you where is just, well. I mean, I don't mind it, I was just wondering if it was something to do with you not liking the way your arms looked bare." He babbled, sensing something wrong

"It's, they don't look good, without sleeves." She answered, shifting a bit.

"Raven? Is, did I offend you somehow?" Rorek asked in worry.

"No, no it's not that it's just…don't you know?" She questioned, looking up at him.

"Know…what?" He asked, staring at her blankly.

Raven fingered the edge of the sleeve and then, deciding to just get it over with, pulled it back. Immediately Rorek began to splutter apologies. "Oh my, Raven I am so sorry! I-I wasn't thinking I forgot, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay." She told him, pulling the sleeve back down.

"No, its not, I should have known! I should have remembered, I can't believe I—I just, I shouldn't have even asked! I mean it was stupid and—" He exclaimed, still going, his face red with shame.

"No, Rorek it's alright. They don't…it's not that big of a deal anymore. I mean, well, most of them left when I became a demon, they healed, and the rest are fading swiftly. Eventually they'll disappear, but…well that's why I wear sleeves. I don't want to show them until every scar has disappeared." She told him.

"I, I see. Still, I'm really sorry. I should have _known_, I mean…well, I guess I thought they'd disappeared by now or something and I…well, I really don't have any business in that and—"

"Rorek! It is okay, let's just drop the subject now. Alright?" She interrupted.

"Okay." He answered, letting out a deep breath. He resumed his place beside her, put his arm around her shoulders, and they resumed their walk. "That Justin, your co-worker, he didn't seem to like me much did he?" Rorek asked.

Raven blinked and looked at him. "What brought this on?" She asked. He just shrugged.

"I don't know, really, it just came to mind for some reason." He answered.

"Oh, well, I _seriously_ doubt he doesn't like you, he just doesn't talk very much. That's how he is to everyone. He's the polar opposite of Elsa if you want to think about it that way." She told him.

"Ah, I see, not very social?" He asked.

"No."

"Where is Elsa by the way?" He questioned.

"She's on a vacation, probably permanent if all goes well. Her ex-now-current-boyfriend somehow got his boss to allow her on the set of some movie, so if that works out for her and she just seems to shine like a beacon, she might get some offers and become an actress. Frankly I think she'd be best suited for that kind of job, she just needs to learn how to school her facial features better." Raven answered.

"Yes, I think she would be good, from what I've gathered anyway." He snickered.

"Mmmm, wanna sit down?" She asked, suddenly noticing there was a park bench along the walk.

"Sure." Rorek answered with a nod.

The metal bench was cool, and looked nice, but wasn't much for comfort. There was a street lamp just beside it, giving them, once again, far more light than was really necessary. Rorek's arm was still around her shoulders, and he seemed to just be enjoying the moment with her, but there was a familiar ache making itself known just beneath her navel. Raven's heart was starting to beat swiftly, the situation was almost perfect now. She waited, but Rorek didn't do anything, he was just staring into space. Slightly irritated, she decided to move closer.

Thankfully, Rorek wasn't stupid and got the hint swiftly. He slipped his arm down a little from her shoulders so that it was more of a hug, and brought his other arm around, its hand holding the small of her back. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She met him part of the way, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

They massaged each others lips with their own, both of them becoming caught up in the moment as the kiss became more passionate, deeper. The little space left between them was lessened even more as somehow Raven ended up sitting on Rorek's lap.

Daringly, Rorek began to lick her lips with the tip of his tongue, just a little. Raven retaliated by doing the same, and soon it was becoming less surface oriented, and a lot more heated. Granted, it still wasn't anywhere near what Malchior would be doing right now if she'd done this with him, but it was farther than they had gone before. And this time, there was no one around to interrupt them, no one around to ogle and giggle silently from just around the edge of her doorway, it was just them.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do we have here?" jeered a loud, haughty voice that practically _shattered_ the entire thing.

Raven and Rorek broke apart, looked at the three big men who'd interrupted, and then at each other. "I'm going to kill them, any objections?" Raven asked.

"A little temperamental right now, aren't we?" Rorek asked, sweatdropping nervously.

"_Yes_." She answered, swinging herself off his lap and onto the ground.

"Who-ho-ho, looks like the little girl wants to play!" Laughed the one with the spiky red hair and nose-ring.

"This little girl is going to send you to another dimension unless you apologize _right now_ and be on your way." She hissed. Her eyes began to glow white, as always, and she brought her hands up to her chest to summon her black and white lightening. _Now_ she had their attention.

"What tha f—"

"I don't know what that is, but you'd better turn it off, missy." Hissed one with a mop of dark brown hair. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, the rest followed suit.

"Raven!" Rorek exclaimed in concern.

"It's okay, _this_ time I see them." Raven answered.

"No! The ground!" He cried. Startled, Raven looked down, her eyes widened.

"GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE!" She yelled shrilly, speaking to their assailants as much as herself and Rorek. But it was too late.

"Tut, tut, Avelona. You know this new temper you've acquired is definitely going to be your downfall. Dear me, what would your _mother_ say?" Tisked the voice that made Raven bristle as an automatic well of anger and hatred rose inside of her.

Raven stared down at the ground, now stone, and then the walls, which where nothing but huge murals. Judora was nowhere to be seen, and neither was an exit.

XD 

Robin stared avidly, looking from face to face, from foam-covered body to foam-covered body. He shifted around a bit uncomfortably, peering and trying as best he could to make an accurate decision. But when every single one of the contestants is covered from head to foot in foam, most of which being all over the place, it was hard to decide who was the winner.

"Okay, I have a question before I decide." He said.

"What's that?" They all asked at the same time.

"Who got Malchior?" He asked. Malchior glowered at him, which wasn't vary effective as he had what resembled a shaving cream mustache covering his face. Zacroma on the other hand, grinned from ear to ear and raised her hand. "How?" Robin asked.

"Heheh, well, see I hid along one of the corridors I _knew_ he would be coming down, mostly because he saw me going that way and had targeted me specifically from the beginning, but anyway, so I waited, and the moment he sneakily turned the corner I was there, and I jumped him with an iron chain. After that I made sure I had every inch of him covered before I took it off, and then ran for my life." She answered.

"You know, the only reason iron effects me _at all_ is because I am, for the time being, merely a dark dragon. If I was an Ebony dragon or a Gray dragon, that trick wouldn't have worked." He informed them all pointedly.

"Zacroma still wins." Robin said.

"BOO-YA!" She cheered.

"But she cheated!" Beast Boy yelled. "Iron binds fey, WE CAN'T MAKE IRON STUFF ON A SPUR OF THE MOMENT THING!"

"I didn't cheat! I thought I made the rules quite clear, and there was nothing in the rules against using one's special talents to win! Except for magic because Malchior doesn't _need_ magic." Zacroma answered.

"I COULDN'T USE MAGIC WHILE BOUND WITH IRON YOU TRAMP!" Malchior yelled.

"OH WELL! I STILL WIN YO! And youuuuuu, have to wear a pink frilly apron! HAHA! WHO'S THE GOD OF SHAVING CREAM NOW!" Zacroma cried in victory.

"I hate you." Malchior muttered darkly.

"No you don't, you're just trying to make me feel better." She argued.

"_What_?"

"Uh, by the way! Has anyone seen Rorek and Raven? You'd think they'd be back by now." Beast Boy interrupted.

"Yeah, where'd they go anyway? I know Raven was going to Alabaster's, but where would _Rorek_ go?" Malchior questioned.

"Hm, they must not be back from their date yet." Zacroma said casually.

"Oh, well that would expla—THEY'RE WHAT!" Malchior rounded, as he suddenly realized just _what_ Zacroma's words meant.

"What? You mean you didn't know they were going out? Oops." Zacroma said, in a voice and air that was _far_ too innocent.

"_You_," Malchior hissed, bearing down upon her. "You, you planned this all along, you were in on this! That's why you did this—it was all a setup! I was wondering why you and Rorek were getting chummy all of the sudden. You traitor!" He accused, jabbing his finger at her.

"Oh _come on_, can you _honestly_ say that you'd let them go out alone like this if you even got the slightest inkling that there was anything going on? We had to distract you _somehow_." Zacroma said.

"No I can _not_ honestly say I would, because I wouldn't, and won't! Rotten little prick, when I get my hands on him…" Malchior said, muttering as he turned on his heel to the door.

"Not so fast!" Zacroma called, zooming around him several times before he realized what was going on, and by then it was too late. "You're not going anywhere." She said, 'tying' off the iron chain she'd wrapped around him by molding the last two links together. She then sat on top of him.

"What are you doing!" Malchior demanded.

"Exploiting your weakness. What do you _think_ I'm doing? Oh, yeah, _and_ I'm keeping you from ruining Raven and Rorek's romantic evening." She answered.

"You know, I would be laughing if I wasn't so afraid of what Malchior would do to me after Zacroma lets him go." Cyborg whispered.

"You kidding? I'm scared of what he's going to do to _her_." Beast Boy replied.

"That's right! You push poor Rorek aside so much, that we cannot stand by and watch as he is refused his own time with Raven simply because he's more of the gentleman!" Starfire interjected enthusiastically.

"You're all against me, aren't you?" He demanded.

"Um, for the record, neither of us had any idea what was going on, so we're not apart of it." Cyborg came up. Robin was about to say something too, but then something else caught his attention.

"Well then, I guess I see who my _real_ friends are." Malchior snorted.

Everyone stared blankly, except for Robin who'd left the room.

"What?" Malchior asked when he realized that they were all looking at him strangely.

"You just…you just admitted that we're your friends." Zacroma said, for all the world as though someone she had a crush on just proclaimed his undying love for her.

"What! I did not!" Malchior retorted, suddenly realizing his fatal error.

"It's the apocalypse man. It's happening I tell you." Cyborg said to Beast Boy.

"What a glorious day it is sir Malchior! I am overflowing with joy that I must—" But what Starfire must do, no one ever found out because the next moment Robin burst back into the room.

"Zacroma untie Malchior _now_! This is an emergency! Raven and Rorek have just been kidnapped by Judora!" He yelled.

Everyone gasped, faces paled in fear. But none looked more terrified than Malchior.

XP

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EVIL CLIFFHANGER! FEEL MY NOT NICENESS PUNY MORTALS (and immortals too because you can't be immune to not niceness unless you have a lobotomy) FOR I HAVE LEFT YOU HANGING BY A SINGLE ROOT FROM THE TREE THAT HAS BEEN PERCHED CONVENIENTLY ON THE VERY EDGE OF THIS CLIFF AND AM LOOKING DOWN AT YOU LAUGHING MANIACALLY. Until either tomorrow or Wednesday when I update again anyways…probably tomorrow, SO YOU WILL NOT BE HANGING LONG AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I FIND THIS AMUSING AS THIS WOULD BRING YOU HAPPINESS!

Okay, now _before_ I'm put in a straight jacket, on to the reviews!

Fire and Ice equals Slush: Interesting name…ahem, anyways! Yeah, now that they're merging faster than they had originally anticipated (heheh), there might be a little bit of freaky stuff going on with their personalities. Heheh.

Sakadora: Well, you know I got to end it sometime otherwise, well, it'll loose my attention and then I won't be able to continue and, well, it'll be bad. But don't worry, this one looks like it'll be longer than Spellbinder, so there's more to come. Thanks so much for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope to see you again on my reviews! (PS: Yes I am a fiend, I am the great and powerful dragon Rhea Hiryuu! Muahahahaha!)

Dark Ki: Lol! Yeah, sounds like they _would_ do that! And then when they're all standing there, watching as Zacroma walks down the isle, Cyborg's gonna be like, "I still think they're putting us on."

Technogirl: Huh? What? Split what up? Who? I have no idea what you're asking, could you elaborate please?

Crimsonsun-rk: Heheheh, you have _no_ idea.

Troubled-ego: YES! ANOTHER CONVERT! Welcome sister (or brother, not sure which, sorry), we have been expecting you.

Well, I think that's all I have to say except, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! (Starts typing)


	11. Mother

A/N: You know, I spoil you guys with these fast updates. Not that you would mind, lol!

XP

_Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,  
Doubtless,' said I, what it utters is its only stock and store,  
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster  
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -  
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore  
Of "Never-nevermore."'_

The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe.

XD

"It's dead." Raven sighed, putting up the now-useless communicator. "I just hope Robin got the message. Are you _sure_ you can't contact Malchior?" She asked Rorek.

"What do you think I've been trying to do this entire time? And these blokes are no help." Rorek grumbled, jerking his thumb to the three would-be attackers, two of them crying their eyes out and begging whatever god they thought would listen that they wouldn't die, while the other kept going over stuff in his life that he regretted. The next moment they would be rocking back and forth, sucking their thumbs, and begging their mommies to come and save them. Though Raven knew she shouldn't be too hard on them, they were only a trio of completely ignorant human beings that were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the graphic scenes all over the walls probably wasn't helping much either.

One wall featured the mural she knew so well. The one of her wearing a black dress, her hair black, all four eyes open, and flanked at either side with Brother Blood and the Apocalypse, with the whole prophecy written on it. Another wall featured a very detailed, very _lifelike_ hangman, which seemed familiar somehow, but right now she didn't want to think about it. The last two walls, well, they were probably the worst. One depicted a very grotesque and detailed transition of the Ritual which created members of the Blood Clan, complete with instructions and pictures of the virgin woman required being cut open and her heart, still beating, taken for it. And on the last wall, was the ritual which created a Tainted. Very detailed, and the worst of all. A pregnant woman was being cut open for her unborn baby, 7 months old. Three men, one pure, one evil, and one of repentance, being hung on crosses for three days until their chests were cut open and blood extracted. And then there was the hangman again, only this time he was being skinned to obtain the required flesh. And on with smaller horrors it went, until at last there was a picture of a demon, red skin, glowing yellow eyes, bat-like wings, horns, and a arrow-tip tail descending upon the one who preformed the ritual. Ripping open their back so that it could fit itself into their body.

If Raven hadn't been all-too familiar with this, she'd probably loose it too.

"What's Judora waiting for, though?" Asked Rorek. "Is she toying with us?"

"Either that, or hoping to get a hold of Malchior. Let's just pray Robin was able to get the part where they're _not_ suppose to come after us." Raven answered.

"Raven these…this place…where is it?" He asked.

Raven looked down and sighed. The circle, complete with pentagon and demonic characters, still oozed with the blood that was used. She didn't dare try to touch it, likely no one else would either. Besides, the empty space in the middle was big enough to fit ten people comfortably, so as of yet there was no need to try their luck. "I don't know." She answered Rorek finally. "It just looks to me like Judora's idea of a proper prison. And whatever she was trying for is working quite well on those three." She said, jerking her thumb back over to the men.

At the mention of them, the three looked up, and then leapt up just to throw themselves at Raven's feet. "WE'RE SORRY! WE'RE SORRY!" One cried.

"Please save us, we didn't mean any of it! Honest, it was all a big joke, hahahaha!"

"I'll be a good guy from now on, I promise!"

Raven sighed, but was feeling a lump of pity form inside of her. These three probably weren't going to make it out of here alive. Heck, _they_ probably weren't going to make it out of here alive. "Alright, alright, calm down. There's no point panicking." She told them. "Listen, I can't promise anything, in fact I doubt any of us are going to live through this, but I _will_ promise to do all I can to save you. However, you _have to do **everything** I tell you_." She instructed.

"We will!" They gasped.

"Alright, well, first thing's first. Get out of _this_." Raven said, frowning at the dress she'd worn. She wrapped her magic around her body and summoned her white battle uniform to it. Rorek did the same, slipping the scarf securely over his nose.

"I don't want to chance that paint, but something tells me we'd be far better off outside the circle." Rorek told her.

"Rorek, let's be realistic, that's not paint. And I agree. But the thing is, does whatever spell it have reach upward as well?" Raven questioned.

"If that's not paint, what is it?" Asked one of the gangsters nervously. They'd gotten to their feet, but were still huddled close together in a pack, lingering near Raven and Rorek.

"Blood." Raven said flatly. She then walked over to the nearest line and bent down, careful not to touch it. Slowly, she moved a hand over it. The next moment it was like an arrow had shot down, two actually, one going right through the center, and the other making a deep cut into the bridge between her thumb and forefinger. She snapped it back the next moment as all four men cried out in surprise (Rorek rushing to her side of course), knowing that keeping it their would cause more invisible rays to pierce her skin. "That's not going to work." She said, holding her hand.

"Obviously." Rorek muttered, pulling a cloth from out of nowhere (likely his sub-space pocket) to wrap around her hand.

"No wait, stand back a minute." She said, dodging the cloth and moving away from him. She focused on the blood dripping down from her palm over her arm, soaking her white cloth.

"Raven wait!" Rorek exclaimed, seeming to realize what she was thinking. "That could be what Judora wants!" He yelled.

"What could? What's going on? Come on, we're dying over here!" Exclaimed the redhead.

Raven stopped herself, blinking. She looked down at the blood that was dripping down her hand, and then at the circle. She swore. "You're right. She probably _wants_ me to transform and absorb all the blood on the floor to destroy the circle. It's probably…" Raven blinked and tried hard to think. "Maybe…" She cupped her hand so that her blood began to well up in it, clutching the other to the back so no more could go out that way. And then she tossed what she had in her hand over the markings. They seared and distorted, but only a little. Soon they seemed to heal themselves, though there were dark marks where her blood had sprinkled. She then gave her hand to Rorek so he could wrap it up.

"What are you thinking? You can't possibly have enough blood to make a path out of here." Rorek said.

"No, I don't, but they do." She answered, jerking her head to the three still grouped in the center, eyeing the blood nervously. They jumped when they realized what she'd just said. "Human blood, what is lining the floor is cursed human blood, blood of a Clan member. Pure, clean human blood, no matter how soiled with evil thoughts and deeds, is still pure unless it is mixed with demon blood. Therefore, human blood would distort the power put into these markings." She nodded to the circle on the ground. "As I am only half human, and have _real_ demon blood flowing through me, it didn't work very well. But those marking's won't be able to heal themselves back up if they contributed." She said, then turning to the three.

The gangster's looked at each other, then at her. But it seemed they understood well enough, and were tough enough that loosing some blood didn't bother them. They all three pulled out blades and walked over to where they were. "What do we do?" The one with long unruly black hair asked.

"You need to cut your hands, just enough that a lot of blood starts to run out, and make sure it stays in your hand. Then you need to toss it as far as you can over those markings, and make a path out of this circle. Once broken, the circle's magic will be destroyed and we can get out of here without fearing it." She instructed. "Do it one at a time, if my assumption is correct, one spray will give you a bloodless path, and then the next can walk up and lengthen it. If we do this right, you won't need to give too much." She told them.

"Impressive, very impressive. But then, I would expect nothing less from you." Raven spun around. There, coming into the room through a cleverly placed black hole (which had been apart of Raven's dress on the mural), was the unmistakable outline of Judora. Her hair moved very little as she walked, still kept up in its thick ponytail, her long ears supporting a pair of clever double-earrings which reached from her lobe to the tip, and her snake, most of it wrapped around her waist, the end making a loop around her thigh, and the rest of it coming up across her chest and then around her neck, where the head was hovering over her shoulder. She was smirking, apparently reveling in her success, but Raven could tell she was on the verge of gloating over something that Raven probably had absolutely no memory of.

Raven and Rorek glared menacingly at her, while the three men stood, probably wondering whether to cower and cry for their mommies somewhere, or start drooling. "I probably shouldn't have transported the humans as well, but you see, that sort of spell is hard to execute, especially when I can only locate you if you use your power. What luck that dear Rorek was there as well!" She cooed.

"Who, exactly, are you?" Raven hissed, "And what makes you so certain that I'm Avelona?" She asked.

Judora's smirk seemed to broaden, as though she were savoring the taste of some secret that Raven wanted, "I? I am the Black Magus Judora, High Priestess of Trigon, and your faithful servant, _my lady_." She said, dipping into a mock bow, her eyes alight with sardonic enjoyment.

"You're insane." Raven snapped.

"Hmhmhm, well, I won't deny that. It's quite impossible to be as heavily tainted as I am and still retain all previous sanity." She said. "But now that you not only saw through my little trick, and might also be able to dispel the circle due to my miscalculation, I can't exactly allow this to go on any longer." She then turned to Rorek, "I've got a special place set out just for you, dear Rorek. I hope you find it more comfortable than that cage you were in last time though." She said.

Instinctively, Raven moved to grab hold of Rorek, but it seemed Judora had been somehow casting the spell even as she spoke, which, was impossible. A spell as complicated as external teleportation, it should have required every bit of her concentration. Still, this didn't change the fact that Rorek was gone. Again, Raven used a few words she'd unintentionally picked up from Malchior, most of which were directed at Judora.

"Language, Avelona, language. Words can hold a lot of power, you of all people should know that." The woman tisked. "Allow me to demonstrate. Sylsra uv druub, damb hu ni zyrr, bu ec e sunnemb," she chanted, her words began to wash over Raven, flowing through her ears, through her mind, unlocking something deep inside of her, until she realized that she could understand what was being said. "Flesh of the hangman, seven loops in the rope, a dying gasp before the midnight bell, to toll till time's end, to time's beginning."

Raven rounded on the three huddling behind her. "If there is anyone, _anyone_ you love, _anyone_ worth living for, I want you all to think really, really hard on that person. I want you to concentrate on your love for this person and how much you care about them." She instructed swiftly.

"Well, there's my mom…" Said redhead.

"Good! But don't tell me, just concentrate on them really hard, and then cut yourselves in the middle of your palm and clasp my hand." She said, unraveling the cloth, now soaked with blood, so that her own hand could be seen. Redhead screwed up his face in concentration, while the others were obviously trying to rack their brains for this person. Redhead pierced his hand and held it out to her, Judora's chanting could still be heard in the background. But though Raven knew she'd closed her eyes to focus, the words were getting swifter in coming. Somehow Judora knew what she was about to try, in spit of the fact that Raven had no earthly clue _where_ she'd learned to do this.

Raven took his hand and pressed her still open wound to it. Their blood began to mingle a bit, and she heard him hiss in pain, telling her that it was starting to work. She then removed her hand and then smeared all over her face like makeup.

The other two seemed to have succeeded, they were holding out their hands to Raven. Her heart beating, she did the same, only this time she put the blood on either leg, then she smeared whatever part of her battle outfit that was still clean of blood with what was still coming out of her hand, and picked up Rorek's cloth. The chant was almost complete, the blood on the ground was beginning to bubble and ooze, streams of darkly colored light were shooting out of the demonic symbols. She had only seconds to act. Raven threw the cloth at the nearest symbol, causing it to hiss and distort, and then she ran.

One hit in her arm, one on her leg, her face was cut, her other arm got two. But that was it, she was out of the circle, and Judora, still caught up in the spell, was helpless to do anything about it. "Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos!" Raven cried, a dark blast, mixed and empowered with the blood covering her from head to foot, shot straight at Judora.

But the blast did nothing whatsoever, deflected by a barrier Judora certainly couldn't have pulled up in time. And suddenly, Raven remembered, _the snake could cast spells_. It was like another sorcerer entirely, using its own magic, and doing everything that Judora couldn't at the time without audible words being used. How could she have been so stupid to forget about that!

The snake's barrier gave Judora enough time to cancel the spell she had begun, and turn to her. Not for the first time Raven would have liked to see a look of furry and resentment on her enemy's face instead of a smile. "Indeed I have underestimated you again, Avelona. And here I was thinking you had no memories of your former self. Oh well, but I'd prefer it this way. No fancy tricks, no unnatural boosts of power. You at your height once again, and me, so that I can finally prove to you that I am, and have always been, greater than you! Unfortunately, though, it appears I will have to wait for that." She said.

"Why! What do you have to prove! And what makes you so sure that _I'm_ Avelona! And even if that were true, didn't you kill me in that past life!" Raven demanded.

"Kill you? Oh no, that wasn't _me_. Though I did try a hundred times. It was, well, I think I'll let _you_ figure that out on your own." She said. Raven was about to shout something else at her, but the next moment she was gone, and the circle was as well.

Good thing too, as a wave of dizziness suddenly caught up with her, and she fell to her knees. The next moment she found herself surrounded with the three men who'd given her their blood.

"Hey, you okay?" They asked, helping her to stand back up.

"Not really, but I'll live, for now anyway." She answered.

"We should get out of here, through that place Snakewoman came from." The black haired one said.

"No, that's not a good idea, wait." She told them, staggering a few feet away from them. "Stand back, and brace yourselves. I'm about to change, but I won't hurt you." She instructed, looking down at her still bleeding hand, and all the other wounds she got.

It was easy to transform. The blood that was completely soaking her filled her with power and strength. Every wound closed, but not until all the blood had been sucked back into them, even the human blood she'd taken from the men had been drawn back in. Her second set of eyes opened up, and she looked down to see her black uniform, silver belt, paper white skin, and black hair. She could feel her fangs with her teeth, but that didn't matter.

She was infused with power now, the power she'd experienced far too long ago. How could she have forgotten what it was like to be a being that could crush human bones to powder with her bear hands?

"Whoa, that's cool." Raven turned to the three, who were staring at her in amazement.

"**Oh right, I have a babysitting job to deal with as well."** She muttered irritably. **"Come here, humans. You can't fight against the Blood Clan as you are, and I'm not going to waist my effort protecting you the entire time." **She ordered. They looked at each other, and then nervously approached her. She snatched Redhead's still bleeding hand first and looked him straight in the eye. **"What is your name?"** She asked.

"D-Dan, Daniel." He answered, sweating.

"**Alright Daniel, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold." **She said. Daniel was halfway through a gulp, when suddenly he cried out in pain, snatching his hand back and stumbling over himself. Raven waited until he stopped writhing on the floor and was able to gather himself up, panting and looking at his hands in wonderment. Apparently feeling the power she'd granted him working itself into a form that suited him the most. **"You next."** She nodded to the one with the long black hair, who had been the second to grant her his blood.

He swallowed hard, but seeing that Daniel was alright, stepped forward. "My name is Zent—"

"**You're _real_ name please. The one your parents gave to you when you were born."** She said, rolling her eyes at him.

"I…I don't know it." He answered, shifting nervously beneath her blazing red gaze.

Raven frowned. But then she took his hand and licked the blood that was still coming out of it. **"It's Shade. Now tell me your name again."** She instructed.

Shade blinked, but said, "My name is Shade."

"**Then Shade, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** She recited. The next moment Shade screamed and fell to the ground, writhing in the agony of this. But it didn't take as long for him to gather himself back up as it had Daniel.

Then it was the brown mop headed one's turn. He swallowed as well and held out his hand. "My name is Michael." He said.

"**Then Michael, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** She told him. Having braced himself, Michael was able to let out a single scream and then set himself down gently to the ground, curling up in a ball and shaking with the pain, and suppressed screams.

"**Alright, not surprising, you have the power to create and control fire, Daniel. Shade, your namesake has granted you the power to become like a shadow, you can move through objects and become invisible in places where there is little light. And Michael, your actions have granted you both the ability to see three seconds into the future, and a swiftly healing body. Now, if everyone is clear, we will begin training by having you three jump straight into what is probably one of the most dangerous situations you will possibly ever face. If you're not ready, too bad, follow me."** She instructed.

About halfway to the exit, Raven turned around upon hearing some irregular breathing, and found that Daniel was doing his best to suppress his snickers, while the other two were just staring at her, as though unable to believe what she'd just said. **"You are allowed to laugh, by the way. If you're going to die, it might as well be with a light mood."** She told them, smiling herself, even though all she wanted to do was break down and start sobbing uncontrollably.

XD

"Alright, let me get this straight. Raven's been having these weird dreams for a while, several of them being extremely vivid and obvious that they meant something, you think Judora use to be the White Magus that separated you and Rorek, and that she thinks Raven's the reincarnation of her rival Avelona. Right?" Robin recounted. "So is this true, or not?" He asked.

"For the millionth time, I DON'T KNOW!" Malchior roared, pulling on his hair. "What, you think my memory's perfect! I hardly remember anything from when we were one that hadn't been cut off in the middle, then begun again at the end so that it's all a bubble of nonsense. And I barely remember much from _after_ we were separated. The merging's doing a job of distorting _that_ as well. All we have are clues from Raven's dreams, and the little that Rorek and I jointly remember, which is _not_ much. I have told you everything you need to know at this point so you can be prepared for what we're about to face, which is the bulk of everything that _I_ know. Now, for the millionth time, are we _there_ yet!" He demanded angrily.

"No, Raven's signal was a little farther down the road. We're _almost_ there." Robin answered. "But why didn't you three tell us about these dreams in the first place?" He asked.

"Because you didn't _need_ to know at the time and it wasn't like you'd be able to help us out at _all_." Malchior snorted.

"I could have!" Zacroma injected with an indignant voice. "I was trained as an Azarath Priestess! I may not be particularly good at magic, fact of the matter I completely suck, but I know a lot about it! And I'll bet I know more about Raven's psyche than you would! Especially since when a demon dreams about a prophecy, it isn't always filled with _symbols_ like you and Rorek seemed to think was happening." She huffed at him.

"We're here!" Robin called, stopping his bike in front of an ominous gate made out of black metal bars that had sharp points at the tops. Everyone stared.

"Alright, first, it was a church, which was creepy already. Then it was a playground, which I had no problem with at first, but now, it's a frigg'n graveyard. I'M NOT GOING IN THERE!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Fine, you can just stay here. You'd only get in the way, besides." Malchior said, kicking the gate so that it swung open in spit of all the rust that would have made it hard to open, if it had not been a dragon to kick it.

"Well, it's just, I'm only saying. You know the places usually seem to reflect the danger. At the church we had to handle Trigon himself, at the playground it was just Balegor again, while all Judora did was get you two, but after that we never saw her. A _graveyard_, well…I mean, what if, what if it's some ominous sign that we're all gonna die?" He asked.

"Well if you're so afraid then STAY HERE! I'd rather die than see Raven hurt and I could care less about whether you feel the same way or not!" Malchior told him. And then without another word, he marched into the darkness of the graveyard.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Beast Boy said, being the first to follow after him. Zacroma came next. And then the last three, nodding to each other, followed them as well.

Malchior pulled down his scarf, letting his nostrils flair. He picked up the scent of some who'd been buried in less-than-proper caskets, and also some of the fresh-turned soil. But most of all, he could smell humans, a very _specific_ type of human. He smirked, lifted himself a little of the ground so he wouldn't make any nose, and glided towards them.

They were all gathered around the small abandoned church, some were outside, some were inside. Malchior counted roughly 10 in all, and his ears could pick up a few jeers and snickers. As he approached, he understood why. There was the smell of a freshly killed human, more than likely the single pastor who lived there and tended to the place. Killing holy men for spells had a few merits in dark magic, but it was extremely difficult to harm them with demonic spells. Apparently they were gloating about their accomplishment, fools.

Malchior hid in the shadows of the church, just around the corner, and waited for one of them to wonder near him. When they did, he snatched them so swiftly, they didn't have time to utter any sort of cry before he had his hand over their mouth and his other arm holding them down so they could barely move. He only let the fact that he was holding down a very _female_ form faze him for a second before he regained himself. He waited to make sure no one heard, and then whispered into the priestess's ear, "I'll make this brief, and you'd better answer me, _quietly_, because the moment you try to alert your little friends I'll rip your vocal cords right out of your throat." He said. "Where is Judora, your Tainted friend, and, more importantly, _Raven_. Also, how do we get to them?" He hissed, he then let his hand slack from her mouth.

"You must be Malchior," Whispered the smooth female voice, who didn't seem at all afraid of him for some reason.

"And you must have a death wish because you are not answering my question quickly enough." He hissed, his free hand coming to rest on her neck threateningly.

"I'll admit I'm not that fond of living, but right now I'd rather it not happen. This wasn't exactly the situation I imagined myself in when we finally met, but fate has always had a twisted sense of humor. Nice to finally meet you, Malchior, I'm Arella, Raven's mother." The woman said.

"Liar." Malchior hissed, growing hot with furry at the audacity of this woman¸ "don't try that trick with me b, I can smell the demon blood coursing in you." He informed, his hand itching to tack off her head that very moment.

"That's because I use to _be_ apart of the Church of Blood. Did Raven tell you nothing?" She said irritably.

"Alright, if you're really her mother, prove it." He hissed.

"You were once trapped in a book, and your other half Rorek in a jewel. You tricked Raven into thinking you loved her at first and that you were really a good magician who looked like Rorek, but then you revealed yourself to be a dragon and betrayed her. Later you clamed you fell in love with her, after Rorek appeared, who was the real good magician in the story, and he fell in love with her as well. Rorek tried to make it seem as though he _was_ the good magician, and then later, when Raven discovered something revealing, tried to pass off as being a crystal dragon who tried to better himself, but the evil he removed from his being became _you_. This was another lie as you were both once a gray dragon but split up by a powerful mystic. That's about all I've gotten in the way of letters, so if all that was _another_ lie, I don't know the truth quite yet." She said. Her voice was in a whisper, but she was somehow able to convey a sense of resentment, especially in her last sentence. "Also, I sent Raven a baru crystal." She added thoughtfully.

Malchior let go of the woman and stared as she stepped away, and then faced him. "How…why…" He whispered.

"If you want more proof, then here." She said, pulling down her hood. Malchior gaped, open-mouthed. She was almost exactly like an older version of Raven! The frame of her face, the way her hair fell about her shoulders, the only notable difference was that her hair was black. But her eyes, they were _exactly_ the same, and they were fixed at him in a rather cold stare that he knew so well. Just, usually he wasn't at the other end of it unless he did something to make her _really_ angry. "Like I said," She began after a moment of his shock, "Fate has a twisted sense of humor. But I think I'll leave the two-hour-long lecture I had planed out just for you until all of this is over with."

"Hey, Trissa, where'd you go?" Called a voice.

Arella replied in a rather pompous voice, "I'm over here you snip! What, do I have to tell you when I go to the bathroom too!" She demanded irritably. "Are the other titans here too?" She whispered to him.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Alright, alright, just checking, sheesh. Bite my head off why don't you?" Grumbled the same voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She called back. She then turned to Malchior again. "Where are they?" She asked him.

"Not sure, they should be coming soon." He answered. "Do you know how to get in?" He asked.

"Yes. I was waiting for you to show up. Where's your other half?" She asked.

"He was taken too, probably not in the initial plan, but I can tell you he's still alive, mostly because _I_ am still alive." He answered. "Do you know if Raven's alright?" He asked.

"Sssh, I have to go back now, we're taking too long." She said, pulling the hood back over her head so that her face was shaded from view again. "Go find the others and have them circle around the back of the church, don't be seen. I've left a stone at the very edge on the right side. Zacroma will know what to do." She said, and then she walked out of his view, he heard her mutter something darkly, which was questioned loudly by the same priest.

Malchior shook his head. _What_ in the world was Raven's _mother_ doing there! He didn't have time to wonder. As easily as he sneaked into his hiding place, he snuck back out to find the others. Likely they were on the other side of the graveyard still looking for him.

XP

A/N: Honestly, at first I was _not_ planning to make those three into super heroes, but there you have it, just one of the many proofs that I do not have complete control over this story and the characters. Nor did I expect Arella to show up, she just _did_. It was weird ..

Anysway…

Crimsonsun-rk: I think this chapter answered your question, but I'll answer it for you. No he doesn't, Raven just contacted his communicator and the reception was fuzzy so he left the room to try and make out the message.

Demonafirit: Gethsemane is in the Oceanborn CD, as for which CD is the best, it's hard to choose, but I'd have to say Once is really good. If you want, you can go to their website ( and check out their stuff. As for my other faves, Sleepwalker is a definite! And The Riddler, Deep Silent Complete, The Kinslayer, Sleeping Sun, Passion and the Opera, She is My Sin, 10th Man Down, Bless the Child, Asteral Romance (2001), Nemo (DEFINITLY), I Wish I Had an Angel, Dead Gardens, and Ghost Love Score. But really, they're all good. NIGHWISH SHALL RULE THE WORLD!

Jemerik: Wow, thanks a bunch! I really appreciate hearing that from a reader, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! Lol, yeah, um, btw, if you need a place to hide, my horde is in a secret room beneath my basement, don't touch or take anything and you can hang out there for a bit. Us asylum escapees have to watch out for each other y'know!

Fire and Ice equals Slush: Um, those aren't birthmarks. Remember I started this series long before Birthright came out, those scars are from Spellbinder. Remember Raven was cutting herself at one point (not during the fic but yeah)? That's where they're from. The stuff in Birthright probably isn't gonna show up here, besides, you'd think that they wouldn't matter anymore once Trigon was _dead_. So yeah, just pointing that out to you. Hope you enjoyed the chappy!

Kage no ni yoru: 1/3 dragon 1/3 vampire…is that even _possible_? I mean, stranger things have happened, but a _dragon_ dating a _vampire_? Okay, so I guess it's not all that strange concidering we have two halves of a dragon dating a half demon at the same time…but still. Yeah, okay, maybe I _would_ go out with a vampire so I guess that isn't too bad. Though I know a dragon couldn't be turned into a vampire with a bite because vampires can only drink human blood and dragon blood would probably kill them because of all the magic and…okay I'll shut up now…

Pandora Kattalikis: I wouldn't mind getting Malchior himself either, heheh :D.

Well, that's about it. Ja ne!


	12. Tainted Blood

A/N: I could put something random and funny right here…but my mind is drawing a blank when it comes to the witty, so you get this: AAAAAAAHHHH! MY TAIL'S ON FIRE! AAAAAAHHHHH!

XP

_But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,  
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;  
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking  
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -  
What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore  
Meant in croaking Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

Darkness seemed to press down on all sides, swallowing any light which might have been, and seeming to stifle the sounds of four sets of feet, running through the hall. But she could see perfectly, this was her element, this was where she belonged. A true creature of the darkness, she had no need to be afraid, no reason to hesitate. Only those three behind her, one of which granting his fellows and himself light enough to keep up, kept her from running as fast as she would have liked to.

So far, no priests, so far, the corridor was disserted. Not even the scent of Judora and her accursed snake polluted the area. But it wasn't long before Raven's nostrils picked up Blood Priests. She stopped when the light from the next room could be seen in the hall, and motioned for Daniel to turn off his light. He did so, and silently they crept over to the edge of the wall. And then they peered around the corner.

These walls were like murals as well, though not so much as the last room, and the things they depicted weren't half as grotesque. But the same circle had been drawn on the floor in blood, and twelve priests were standing in strategic places around it. Tall candle holders were set at each individual point, all six of them bearing a candle shaped like a red skull, and blazing with a black flame. The priests were singing prayer in the demonic language Raven heard Judora chanting in. In the center of them was a small boy, sitting down with his legs clutched to his chest, and weeping uncontrollably. Raven leered, _Oh no you don't!_ She thought.

She waited for the second when the priests would draw breath for the next verse, and then practically flew in. She went straight for the leading priest first, ripping his head right off his shoulders before he had time to assess what was going on. She scooped up the boy and flew him out of the circle while the three guys began to experiment with their newfound abilities by joining in the fight.

It was probably the element of surprise that made this particular battle so easy, though the fact that the priests and priestesses, after seeing Raven was _still_ after their blood (no pun intended), ran for their lives. And as this happened, Raven flew back into the middle of the circle and began to unstring the power that had been gathering when the ritual was begun. It wouldn't be a good idea to leave it all hanging and not canceled. After making sure the blood on the floor _wasn't_ going to be detrimental to her state of mind, she began absorbing it, also putting out the black flames and destroying the candles.

"This is cool so far, but I'm _still_ hoping this is all a dream." Said Michael.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Shade asked, helping the boy back to his feet.

"**He hasn't been physically injured, but he is far from 'okay'."** Raven snapped, smearing some of the symbols that had been drawn on the ground with ashes instead of blood. **"They were about to use him to summon a higher demon, which would have used _his_ body to make its own flesh. And I'm fairly certain he knew exactly what was going on too."** The boy nodded dumbly, tears still streaming down his eyes.

Raven pulled off her cloak and gave it to him so he could cover himself up. "Yeah, but now we have him to deal with as well." Shade said.

"**You keep hold of him, do it right and you can make him ephemeral as well." **She said. She then came up to the boy, who was regarding her with both fear and admiration, and cupped his face gently in her hands. **"When this is over, I will remove these bad memories for you."** She told him. He nodded again, still unable to speak, and then hovered near Shade. The shadow-user complied, picking him up on his shoulders and waiting, with the rest, for Raven to make a decision on which door to take.

"**This way."** She said, coming do a decision. She took the door, which was bordered with demon children, and they found themselves in another hall, only this one was lit and more like a castle corridor than the one they had just gone through. But now they had two directions to go in, and either one looked to lead to another fork.

"That sucks." Muttered Daniel.

"**Let's find a priest and interrogate them."** Raven said, her nostrils flaring again. **"This way."**

XD 

"Raven's mother said you'd know what to do." Malchior said when he unearthed the stone that Arella had told them was there. It was very smooth, white, and had some strange black character on its surface.

Zacroma swiftly took it from his hand and examined it, her eyes widening. "Yes, I do." She said, shaking her head as if to tell herself she could be amazed later. "Stand back." She said, walking swiftly over to the center of the church's back wall. She then began chanting in a strange language Malchior was _sure_ he'd never heard before, and began to draw the same character on the stone there, using the stone and making white marks that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"What's she doing?" Beast Boy whispered.

"Sssh!" Robin hushed. At least _someone_ understood this was a delicate process.

Zacroma finished the character, and then drew a straight line from the ground, to a few inches above the symbol, over, and then down to the ground again, completely boxing the glowing symbol. White light seemed to glitter within the box, and then settle itself. Zacroma placed a hand to the wall, and pushed.

It came open like a door, and she gestured them all to follow her. "Wait," Said Malchior, "Shouldn't we wait for Raven's mother?" he asked.

"No need." Malchior practically jumped out of his skin. Arella had somehow appeared right beside him.

"Great Ryuujin woman! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" He hissed.

"Don't be silly, you're far too young to be getting heart attacks. If I meant to do that I'd need a full moon and a few herbs only found on Azarath." She replied.

"Um, er, high miss Raven's mom, my name's—" Beast Boy began awkwardly, but Arella stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Introductions can come later, right now, let's focus on staying alive and saving Raven and Rorek." She said.

"Um, do you know about—" Robin began.

"Yes, she does." Malchior answered swiftly. "Come on." He said, following a rather nervous looking Zacroma through the doorway. He stopped for a moment and cocked his head at her questioningly.

"H-hi…Arella." Zacroma greeted awkwardly.

"Hello, Zira." Arella nodded.

"'Zira'!" Exclaimed the titans, all at once.

"Can we take this _inside_ please? There are a few priests coming in our direction!" Malchior hissed.

"Right, we can worry about all this afterwards!" Robin said, taking charge and moving the group through the door.

"Where are we now?" Asked Beast Boy as they found themselves in a room that seemed to resemble an old castle armory, only there was more rust than actual armor and blades it seemed. When they had all come through, the doorway that was made sealed itself shut behind them.

Arella then turned to Zacroma, "I'll assume you had a very good reason for disobeying the council and leave it at that for now." She said.

"I did!" Zacroma defended swiftly. Everyone stared. "And I was right! You can ask Raven, you can even ask them! If I hadn't—"

"Zira! Zira it's okay, I understand. But you know the Council is not going to be as forgiving about this. You've put yourself in a very dangerous situation, I'm sure you realize. But we can talk about it _later_. This is neither the time, nor the place." Arella told her soothingly.

"You told us that they sent you! And that Arella gave you those rings to give to Raven from Azar!" Beast Boy came up.

"You gave Raven the rings? Zira, those were for _you_!" Arella suddenly cried out, "What were you thinking?"

"I don't need them, Arella! I'm not a little girl anymore, I can defend myself! I've gotten good at blade fighting, I even mastered flight magic and some small speed spells! I was ready, I _am_ ready, I was trained as a priestess, so why can't I be trusted to make the right decisions regarding my own future! I'm not just some object with power you people have to make sure is safe and secure all the time, I'm a person too, and apparently I knew better than your freak'n council because Raven did, in fact, need me!" Zacroma exploded.

Arella heaved a great sigh, "Azar warned us about this. I agree with you Zira, you are your own person, and if you believe strongly that you were in the right, and the others agree, I will tell the council as much. But from now on," She said, putting her hands on Zacroma's shoulders, "_Please_ consider your own safety, and what it could mean if—"

"I know." Zacroma said sharply, cutting her off. "I've heard it a thousand times already."

"As much as I would _love_ an explanation to this whole thing, can it wait until _after_ we save the universe from demonic rule?" Malchior asked loudly.

"Yeah, let's get going." Robin said, the group then made their way for the door to the room.

"Friend Zacroma, are you alright?" Starfire asked with concern.

"Yes, I am. For now anyway." Zacroma said, plastering her usual winning smile on her face, which fooled no one this time.

XD 

It seemed the light of the room had been reversed. Far from there being no light at all, it was as if there was light where there was no darkness, and candles of black flame were shining _darkness_ into the room. Had he been unable to see well in the dark, he might not have seen the murals on the walls and ceiling, much like the ones of the previous room he'd been in, nor would he have noticed the many sacrificial implements, the boiling caldron over a pit of green fire, and the circle, much like the last, drawn in blood around the large alter he was currently laying on, obviously meant for two people.

Rorek had, at the last second, guarded himself against any sleep spell. And it was a good thing too, because a very powerful one had hit him, nearly knocking him out in spite of his barriers. Likely, Judora didn't know he was powerful enough to stay conscious, because the chains that bound him were not iron, but a mix of iron and an easily molded form of alapaster. He couldn't just force off pure iron with his bear hands, but impure iron was easy. He still might not be able to use very powerful magic with them on, but once he forced them off that wouldn't be a problem.

He'd laid there for a moment, just to make sure no one was in the room, and then he made fists with his hands, and began to fight against the chains. He got his hands free, and then he was able to break off the rest of the chains, and then get off the alter.

There was a door in the back, likely it would have some sort of spell on it, unless, of course, Judora was that confidante that she'd knocked him unconscious, which was unlikely. After all, pure alabaster was best for the spells that required it, why put iron in silver if not to be more comfortable that your captive couldn't escape easily? There was probably a time limit as to how long you can keep a dragon asleep, even with that powerful a spell, and Judora most likely planed to get there before he'd finished getting all the chains off him, or before he woke up, either one.

Sure enough, there was a strong sealing spell on the door. Like _that_ was going to stop him. There was nothing on the walls, so he merely side-stepped the door, muttered a few words under his breath, and then slid on through the wall.

The next room resembled that of a large study, apothecary, and reptilian store at the same time. Shelves upon shelves of books, bottles, veils, cages, and stones. All of the reptiles in the cages were asleep, fortunately, and there were a few books open on the desk. Rorek swiftly flew over all the obstacles to get there and bent over them to look at what Judora might be planning.

The first picture he saw was one of Trigon, holding his sword and standing on a world encased with flames. The next, Raven.

But it was not the Raven he knew, the style of her cloak was different, as was her bodysuite. But what really marked the difference was her hair. It was the exact same color, but it was much, _much_ longer. The bulk of it pulled back into a large ponytail with two waist-length locks framing her face, and it also looked as though it were moving around her of its own accord. Closer inspection told him that there were a few differences in her face as well. For one she was older in this picture, her nose was a little different, and her cheeks a bit more narrow. But her eyes, her eyes were exactly the same as Raven's.

Rorek took a deep breath and backed away from the picture, clutching his chest as though it were hurting. He closed his eyes for a moment,

_There was something about her, the way she moved, the way she spoke. She is no human, that much is for sure._

He felt the same way about Raven.

_I had to meet her, speak with her. Perhaps we could be friends, at first maybe, and then…well, maybe more._

His thoughts about Raven when he first met her…

_She's the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on. A jewel with no equal. I mock the humans who shy away from her. If she was half as beautiful in their eyes as she is in mine, no male would be able to stay away for long._

Raven…Raven…Raven…

There could be no doubt, these memories, he knew they were of this Avelona, and they matched Raven perfectly. It seemed almost impossible, but there was no doubt in his mind anymore. Raven _was_ Avelona reincarnated.

And, what happened with Judora, he and Malchior, as one, had fallen in love with Avelona, angering her. So the White Magus became the Black Magus, and Tainted herself. And because Avelona loathed demons with a passion, she never stopped trying to kill Judora, even though they were suppose to be like sisters.

Rorek shook his head, this was _not_ the time. He had to get out of here and find Raven.

"Well, well, well. Seems I underestimated you, you're a bit stronger than the last time I saw you. But, no matter. I guess I'll have to bind you the old fashioned way." Said an all-too familiar voice.

Rorek whirled around to face Judora's smug face. "Not so fast. You think after our last encounter we didn't prepare ourselves for the next?" he asked. He then slipped out a chain of rosary beads that supported a large crucifix made of pure silver from his sub-space pocket. Judora's eyes narrowed in suppressed anger as he slipped it around his neck. "Now you're going to have to fight me without using any demonic power boosts." He said.

But Judora just smirked again, "You think I can't use powerful magic _without_ calling upon my demonic blood?" She asked, petting her familiar lovingly.

"Absolutely not. But now, I believe, we are more or less equal." He answered.

Judora glared at him, hissing. "Very well then, we shall see!"

"I have a question though." He said before the fight could begin. "If you are so certain that Raven is Avelona reincarnated, why do you still consider her your mistress as a demon? If you hated her so much in the past, why so willing to follow her rule?" He asked.

But Judora smirked again, giving him a very _off_ look. Like there was something that she was relishing at the moment. "Oh, I don't _hate_ her, I never did. We're like family after all. But she _did_ seal away my master, and for that she had to pay, dearly. This is all a game, you see. The beginning of which, none of you seem to remember very clearly, giving me quite the upper edge." She told him.

"What do you mean, a game! This isn't a game, this is—"

"Everything is a game, and while power gives you an edge, what really counts is how you play, and if you can win. If not, your a worthless piece, your life is just a tool for others, much more worthy, who might be able to win themselves. You see, currently you're _her_ pawn, but the rules of the game are very vague, the only rules set are physical laws, and the laws of ones own beliefs. So, someone who is a pawn of one true player, can be used, depending on the way, by another player, even if they oppose the first. While you might not come to me willingly, well, I warped your mind once, I can do it again." She said, laughing a deep, cold laugh.

"You what!" Rorek gasped, eyes widening.

"Oh, but you wouldn't remember, would you? Too bad you won't have time to gather everything up, it would have been fun to watch all three of you squirm. Such drama! The emotions it would reap, yes, dragons can sometimes be so like humans when it comes to emotions. Though, I suppose, that does depend a lot on the dragon. But enough chit-chat, it's time to get down to business." She said, raising her hands so that green flames began to erupt from them, "_Surendui, Vesta'Aarak, Val'Lolth_!" She hissed.

"_Animatus, Specula, Aeternitus_!" Rorek chanted, his own hands glowing white. The two powers clashed with an insurmountable boom.

XD

"DUDE! WHAT IS THAT!" Daniel roared over the huge thunderous crashing sound that had filled the entire fortress.

"**I believe it is coming from where Judora is."** Raven assessed, **"Shade, you take the boy and go through the barrier, I'm sure there will be guards on the other side, so try not to be seen. Stay until I come for you. You two, with me."** She said, pointing to Daniel and Michael.

They nodded. "Right!" They said. They waited until Shade and the boy were safely through the barrier, and Raven absorbed the blood of the last priest who'd been guarding the place before they left.

XD

"HAAAA!" Robin exclaimed, a wave of bright red energy shot from the slice of his sword, sending all five priests back into the wall.

"_Atrum, Exspes, Mortis_!" Malchior cried, sending his own energy streaming at them.

"_Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos_!" Light blue energy shot from Arella, binding them all up.

"Traterous b!#!" They cried at her.

"Oh shut up!" Cyborg ordered, marching over to kick them with his metal foot, knocking a few out cold with the impact.

Malchior turned to Robin and opened his mouth, but Robin beat him to it, "No! For the hundredth time I am _not_ giving you the sword!" He snapped, getting tired of Malchior questioning him.

"That's _not_ what I was going to ask." The dragon growled, "I was _going_ to ask if your arm is alright."

Robin blinked, and looked down at his left arm. One of the cuts he'd gotten was gushing blood, but he'd just now realized it. "It's fine, but I think I need it bandaged." He said.

"Here." Arella said, taking his arm in her hands. She rubbed the wound, causing Robin to cringe, but the next moment she was whipping the blood off her hand on her cloak, and there was no more coming out. "Best not to loose any more. Keeping your blood in your body is vital, especially in a Church of Blood." She told him.

"Right, thanks."

"Anyone know where we go next?" Asked Starfire.

"No, but I can find out." Zacroma said, kneeling over the priests. Her hands then began to move around them swiftly, in and out of pockets, within the folds of their cloth, with such swiftness her hands were almost blurred. She didn't have to look farther than one of them, though, before she found what she was looking for. "Here." She said, pulling out a jewel that resembled the 'map' Batman had unearthed the last time they had been in this sort of situation. "I can—" But she was cut off, a huge thundering sound had suddenly begun in the direction they had currently been heading.

"Well, I think that answers the question of _where_ to go!" Malchior yelled.

"Ya think!" Beast Boy came back.

"This way!" Arella cried, leading them onward.

They ran, maneuvering through the corridor's with Zacroma's instructions, going through a few rooms, and then finding themselves in a particularly nasty one when,

"Not so fast!" Boomed an _annoyingly_ familiar voice. Doors slammed shut and sealed themselves, and the company spun around rather reluctantly, each with pained looks on their faces.

"Don't you _ever_ give up!" Beast Boy demanded. "I mean, the odds are against you man! And Robin's sword keeps all your priest peeps from harming us, so you're the only one who can do a thing, and you try facing all of us at once!" He exclaimed.

"Hmph!" Balegor smirked, "This time's different, this time I have—"

"An alabaster stone infused with dragon's bane, demon blood, and serpent venom, courtesy of your tainted friend Judora." Malchior finished. "You know, dragon's bane only works to protect you against fire issued directly from the dragon's belly, and while it would probably make me pass out if turned into a fine powder then blown in my face, I could easily touch it without having so much as a rash pop up. Only pure dragon's bane can do that. Besides, I'm a _higher_ dragon, the best that stuff is used for against me is in blades. Also, do you honestly think that little trinket would protect you against Robin's sword?" He asked.

But Balegor was still smirking. "Oh, it'll do more than just that, and you've forgotten a very _powerful_ ingredient too." He said, pulling out the large, rectangular shaped talisman the color of blood with a few large emeralds in the setting. "_Moles, Dissolutio, Impetus_!" He exclaimed.

It was as if a huge void, like a black hole, was starting to wrap itself around him, creating a sphere, pulsing with dark reds and greens at the edges, and drawing itself towards the talisman in his hand, as if preparing something huge. It was too late to pull up a proper shield, so Malchior pushed himself in front of the group, forcing Arella to stand directly behind him, in an attempt to take the bulk of the blast himself.

But, it never came. The last second, when a huge pulsing beam had shot at them, a dark figure appeared in front of him in a flurry. It raised its hands up in front, and seemed to suck in all of the power that had been put into that beam. And once it had all been extracted, the figure's hands seemed to mold the energy into the shape it wished.

Balegor collapsed onto the ground, apparently having been drained far more than he had expected due to the figure. **"This time you die."** Hissed an echoy voice which sounded as though more than one person were speaking at a time. A small beam of darkness shot from her to Balegor, and with one last cry of fright, he crumpled to the floor. Bones seemingly to have been crushed, and his blood drained from him.

The figure turned around, and no one was surprised to see the demonic form of Raven, cloakless though, and holding a beautiful, green crystal bow in her hand, crafted from Balegor's attack. No one, except Arella.

"Raven!" She gasped.

Raven's four eyes widened and she darted to her mother, who had side-stepped from behind Malchior, **"Mother? Mother what are you doing here!" **She exclaimed, grabbing Arella by the shoulders.

"Oh Raven, what have they done to you?" Arella cried, regarding her daughter fearfully.

"**No, mother, it's alright! I'm still me, I don't know how I can do this, but I can. I've become a sort of purified demon, it's okay."** Raven swiftly assured her.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you, it seemed Azar and your suspicions were correct in this area. Raven's been able to transform, yet keep herself pure and, well, herself somehow. And she's just fine afterwards too." Zacroma came in.

Arella's expression was first a mixture of relief and amazement, but then she pulled Raven into a tight embrace and began to weep uncontrollably. **"Um, Mother? This really isn't the time. I think Rorek's in trouble."** She said.

"R-right, I-I'm sorry but, but, oh Raven I was so worried!" Arella exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes with difficulty.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt but, who are they?" Asked Cyborg, pointing to Daniel and Michael.

"**Ah, well, that's an interesting story, isn't it?"** Raven chuckled, looking at them. But the two were staring at the group, wide eyed. Eyes lingering mostly on Zacroma and Starfire.

"Whoa, it's the Teen Titans!" Daniel exclaimed, breathlessly. "You're Zacroma right?" He asked.

"Um, yeah.…?" She answered awkwardly.

"Can we bow and worship you?" Asked Michael. Raven sweatdropped.

"Um, maybe later!" Zacroma said, still regarding them as though they were a little loony.

"**Swift answer, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and were brought to this place with Rorek and I. So I had to give them powers in order to keep them from being a handy-cap."** Raven told them.

"Er, yeah, about that," Malchior began, making himself finally known.

"**Drop it."** Raven snapped before he could continue. **"Starfire, I think this would suite you best."** She said, holding out the bow to her friend.

"Oh, thank you! But how do I use it?" She asked, taking it awkwardly.

"**Use one of your plasma blasts with it, I think it will do the rest."** Raven answered. Starfire nodded. She then turned to Arella, **"Mother, they know the way out, please follow them. You're the last person I want Judora to meet."** She said.

Arella sighed, "Gone are the days when I was the one protecting you. Very well, I will trust your judgment then." She turned to the guys, "Lead the way."

"Er, right. See you guys later I suppose." Daniel said, and the three of them went on back the way they had come.

"**Let's go."** Raven said. Everyone nodded, and then they ran down the hallway, at the end where two large doors, each with the design of a huge green snake peering at them. Crashes, spells, and cries of pain could be heard from the other side.

XD

Rorek panted, clutching his arm where Judora's snake had bit him. It was searing with pain, but his dragon blood was working powerfully against it, seeing that there was a threat to his life, and forcing it out of his arm through the skin punctures the fangs had made. But the arm was numb, and he could barely move it. That also didn't account for the blood coming out of many cuts and scratches Judora had somehow managed to give him. His mithrill armor had protected him quite well, and so had the rosary around his neck.

Still, Judora hadn't come off very well either. Surprisingly swift and agile, she'd been able to dodge most of his more physical attacks, and though her punch hand landed on his armor, he'd still felt it pretty well, and her hand wasn't even bruised from it. However, being unable to guard herself against _his_ attacks with demonic barriers due to his rosary, she was standing on one broken leg, and her face was almost covered in blood due to a deep cut across her forehead. Her snake, as well, had suffered for its attack, draped, nearly unconscious about Judora now, and supporting many wounds itself.

But Rorek wasn't going to fool himself, it wouldn't be long before Judora finished him off, even now her wounds were healing, she was even using her broken leg to stand. But the worst part was she didn't seem feel any of it anymore. She was smiling at him triumphantly, pulling herself back up into her usual haughty pose, and reviving her snake with a few gentle strokes. "I might not be able to harm you as easily as I might, but my body is still superior to yours and you know it. The demonic entity within me infuses me with more physical power than you might have guessed. And now, to end this." She said, charging up her next, and probably final, attack.

But before she could do anything, the doors burst open, and in flooded, to Rorek's utter relief, the Teen Titans, but, more importantly, Raven. Who was completely safe, demonic, and looking murderous at Judora.

"Glad to see your alive. How'd you manage to fight her?" Malchior asked, coming over to him. "Last time she whipped the floor with us, and we were together!"

"Rosary, she can't hurt me unless her attacks aren't demonically boosted." Rorek coughed out, his voice horse, and directed Malchior's attention to the chain around his neck.

"**You've failed again, Judora. You couldn't defeat me alone before, but now I have friends who can deal with your familiar while I deal with you. This time, you die."** Raven hissed.

To everyone's surprise (Save maybe the reader's), Judora smiled and laughed. "Die? Oh no, no, no! You misunderstand the situation, Avelona _dear_. I have been _waiting_ for you all! Rorek's rosary only worked well enough to wound me a bit more than I had intended to let him, I could easily have killed him the moment we began to fight. And your friends aren't going to help you, I imagine you'd be busy trying to save them, you can't defeat me, not when I have so many little pawns at my disposal!" She said, her red slits narrowing in a malicious smirk.

Raven charged, trying to keep her from having the time to do anything, but it seemed her snake had been weaving the spell as she spoke, and the next moment Judora had a ball of string in her hands, which glowed ominously, and then shot out in all directions, tying itself around her fingers, and weaving just about everywhere.

Raven stopped abruptly, leering at the strings in front of her suspiciously, but she didn't have time to do much else. The next moment she heard a cry, "Raven!" and felt something hot and searing pierce her in the back. The wound healed itself swiftly, but she spun around, expecting to see one of Judora's friends, but found, to her astonishment, Starfire floating in the air, her hands on the bow, stringing another arrow with a look of horror on her face.

Zacroma had her duel blades out, and was moving very awkwardly towards Raven, a look of pain on her face as she tried to struggle. The rest, however, suddenly ran towards her, their faces in shock.

Raven dodged from another of Starfire's arrows, and Robin's sword at the same time, only to be blasted in the arm by Cyborg. "Raven run! Get outta here!" The mechanical man shouted, his blaster preparing another ball of plasma.

"We can't control our bodies!" Robin yelled, swiping at Raven, who kept dodging.

"**I know."** Raven said. The string had wound itself around their arms, legs, and even necks. But they didn't seem to see it. Malchior and Rorek, far from being controlled, were ripping the stuff off them, trying to help her, but unable to as more and more string seemed to come after them, holding them in place.

"It must hurt, having your own friends attack you. Sort of opens up an old wound, doesn't it, Avelona?" Judora asked.

"You b!#! You're controlling us!" Robin yelled, only able to pause a second before nearly cutting Raven's head open with the sword she had made herself.

Raven cried out in fury, and shot towards Judora. But she'd been ready, a blast of green light issued from the mouth of the snake, knocking Raven back and also stunning her for a moment. Just long enough for Robin's sword to come down, piercing her in the stomach.

Raven screamed. The pain was insurmountable! It burned, pulsing throughout her body, causing all four eyes to water. She didn't understand, how could it hurt this much! Had she not crafted that sword herself using her own blood? It didn't make sense! But the pain was so immense, she could hardly think. Her heart was twisting in on itself, her vision was starting to fade, she could barely hear the scream that was still issuing from her own throat. How could _anything_ hurt this much!

She didn't know what happened next, all she knew was that the sword had left, but the pain was still there, the wound wasn't healing up. There was a blurred mass of purple to her side, and soon she realized it had to be her hair. Her vision was going in and out, and she could only vaguely hear voices, cries, Judora's own shout seemed to be amplified above them all, probably because it was of fury and spite, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was a good sign, but couldn't remember why.

But soon, it was quiet, she felt a pair of strong arms gently lift her from the ground, tears still streaming from her eyes, she could barely make out a mass of cotton white hair before everything went black.

XP

A/N: You know, cliffhangers seem to just be a thing right now, MUAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, yeah, so anyway. Good thing you guys don't seem to mind Arella being in the story, and yeah I know she sounds young, but that will be explained later. I dunno, I never actually saw a picture of her, but she just doesn't seem like some old woman to me. I don't know, I'm weird. So yeah, on with the reviews!

Jemerik: Just watch out for anything that has a design that suspiciously looks like eyes and teeth, don't make any sudden movements around those, and keep away from the chests, there's a glitch in most of their magical programming so they'll attack for no apparent reason. But yeah, I escaped as well! Seems humans have this funny notion that taking a bite out of someone is _not_ a good way of showing that you don't like them, also, no one else seems to appreciate the beauty of fire, and when they do they're locked up like I was. So yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Kage no ni yoru: Okay that was _wayyyyy_ too much information there thanks! Ahem, to answer your questions, 1: Easy, see dragons aren't as obsessed with sexual relationships as humans are, our fetish is gold and stuff, y'know? So it'd make sense that Malchior (and Rorek of course) would be content with snuggly kissy stuff, for now anyways. Also, I think I've stated _several_ times that I absolutely and completely refuse to write a lemon. 2: Until Judora either gives up, or is killed. The latter being the most likely. 3: I'm updating, I'm updating! 4: But if I puke I'll mess up my keyboard! 5: I do hope you're joking as I am female and as straight as a geometric line.

Pandora Kattalikis: Plenty! :D

PerfectlyImperfect: I'm not rushing! I'm just updating at the same rate as I did on Spellbinder! Which is once every 1-3 days roughly.

Mei Mei: It is? SWEET! THAT'S SO COOL! Ahem, anyway, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to point out the inconsistencies you were talking about, so that I can figure out if they were total screw-ups, hinted plot twists, or something that I plan on explaining later as I'd like to go back and correct them if possible (or fix them in later chapters). I'd go through and reread it all myself, in fact I just might do that anyways as I will have time to next week (being spring break and all, heheh), but if there are some major points that sort of grated on your nerves a bit I'd like to know them. I WOULD REALLY APPRICIATE IT! As for my Sailor Moon stuff…well WWS is pretty much dead, that is unless I get the drive I need to go back and repair a lot of mess up work, and Firefly Jewel isn't exactly at a stand-still, but it's at a rather…_interesting_ part. So yeah, I might finish those after this. Thanks for R&Ring!

Until next chapter! Ja ne.


	13. Wing Scars

A/N: One day little red riding hood was going to her grandma's house to give her grandma some cookies when she happened upon the Big Bad Wolf who wanted to eat the cookies himself. He asked her for them in a sweet and kind voice, but then Little Red Riding hood screamed and ran all the way to Grandma's house, raving about talking wolves. Now the wolf had taken a short cut to get to grandma's house, and had broken in, and stuffed Grandma into her closet, having to gag her because then _she_ started screaming about talking wolves walking on their hind legs. The wolf then donned grandma's clothes, and when Little Red Riding hood came, told her to come in using his sweetest voice. Upon coming in, Little Red Riding hood immediately saw the wolf wearing her grandma's clothing, and then busted out into matrix moves, throwing the wolf out the window he had broken. Then the wolf was arrested for breaking and entering, and also kidnapping grandma. Little Red Riding Hood was fined for deliberately harming an endangered species, but then got out of it after promising to Agent Smith that she'd help him find Neo. And Grandma had to be put in the hospital for damage to her heart, and then in a mental ward because she kept raving about a talking wolf that stuffed her into her own closet. She then woke up out of the Matrix but was too old to survive getting flushed. The end.

Okay I have _no_ idea where that came from, please don't ask.

XP

_This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing  
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;  
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining  
On the cushion's velvet violet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,  
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,  
She shall press, ah, nevermore!_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

_She wasn't normal by far, but it was, I suppose, better than how she **had** been, even if it seemed like a complete change. She was now forming words, but not just words, complete sentences, intellectual sentences. She was no child, I had seen children, I had watched children grow up, I was still a child myself. She did not smile, she did not laugh, she did not even want to play very much. She spoke only when she had something to say, and spent most of her time reading._

_Mother was delighted, of course. This change was a good thing. But most others were now frightened even more than before, but they didn't say anything because they themselves had been feared the same way, and this was a sanctuary for people like them, people like **her**._

_Mother tried to make me play with her, but I refused, I was scared still. I avoided her whenever it was physically possible, but that meant I was avoiding my mother as well. She kept spending so much time with Her. I don't know what she did, and I don't care. Things were much better before **she** came._

"_**Why did you write this?"**_

"_**What are you doing reading my diary? Get out of my room!"**_

"_**But why, sister, why? All I ever wanted was to be your family, I've tried and tried, and yet you still fear me, why? Why?"**_

"**_Don't call me that! We aren't sisters, we never were! Just because Mother adopted you doesn't make you _my_ sister! I would never be sisters with a tainted wretch like you. Get out of my room, get out of my life! Burn in hell for all I care, just _leave_! Everything was fine until you came around! And we were much better off when you left, you should have just stayed there! Leave us alone! I hate you!"_**

"_**All I wanted…was to be someone…you would call…your sister…"**_

"_**Die."**_

Raven screamed.

Almost immediately she heard cries of panic around her as she gasped for breath, forcing down the next scream, and clutched her middle which was burning like no tomorrow. She stilled herself in time to hear someone shout, "Raven! Oh friend Raven you are alive!" with sobs in their voice.

There was a scramble, and a slight tug of war because everyone seemed to want to hold her close and/or weep with relief. And by everyone I mean Arella, Malchior, and Rorek. "I won't be if you people don't back off!" Raven gasped out, barely able to breath. All but Arella, who seemed to have won in holding Raven in her arms, moved back to give her some space.

"We, we thought you were dead! You, you stopped breathing and," Zacroma babbled.

"It was awful! When Robin was forced to spear you with that sword, none of us expected it to really hurt you, but then you screamed and…" Beast Boy trailed off, swallowing his own sobs.

"Sir Malchior and Sir Rorek were able to break free, they attacked Judora at the same time," Starfire injected.

"They took her by surprise," Robin came in.

"Our combined power was enough to defeat her, she had to teleport away, but then…" Rorek said, trailing off.

"We brought you back here, you were still breathing but, you stopped…" Malchior told her.

"But you're alive! You're alive, oh Raven!" Arella cried, sobbing still uncontrollably with relief.

"Don't _do_ that to us!" Exclaimed Daniel's voice.

"Can we stop by the hospital, by the way? I think I've had about ten heart attacks tonight." Asked Michael.

Raven let out a raspy laugh and got up, using Malchior's offered hand as a support. "Where's the boy?" She asked.

"Here." Shade answered. The little boy, now wearing a white cloak, was still clung to Shade, but when he saw Raven he ran over and latched onto her instead. She patted his head.

"I have to turn back into a demon. Both to heal this wound, and so I can remove his memories as I promised." Raven told them.

"You can't!" Zacroma exclaimed, "The transformations take energy from you, if you do it twice in one night you might—"

"They take energy yes, but energy that I regain completely after only one priest's blood. I can do it, fairly easily now because I've been wounded badly." Raven explained, letting go of Malchior's shoulder and motioning for him to move back. "I need you to stand over there now, this'll only take a moment." She told the boy kindly. He looked up at her, eyes still filled with tears of his past horror, and nodded dumbly.

The blood still coming from Raven's middle began to draw itself back into her, surrounding her from the inside, changing her skin white, her hair black, and her wardrobe black. It only took a few moments for the wound to heal itself, and the boy was back by her side at that point, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. **"As I promised, this will all be a bad dream that you will forget the moment you wake up." **She told him, pressing her fingers to his temples.

His eyes rolled back, and he slumped into Raven's arms, now unconscious. Raven wrapped him up more securely in her cloak, and then handed him back to Shade.

"Need a donor?" Asked Daniel, extending his wrist to her.

Raven smiled at him, **"Yes, thank you."** She said, and she gently sank her teeth into his wrist, taking only enough blood that she wouldn't pass out after transforming back.

"Let's go home, I just want to pretend the world no longer exists." Beast Boy wined tiredly.

"We all do, but we have to get the boy back home, and we don't know where he lives." Robin said.

Raven placed her hand on the boy's head, closed her eyes, and focused a moment. **"We do now. I will take care of him. You three go home and sleep for the entire day. I'll contact you when everything has settled down, and we can discuss whether or not you want to keep those powers."** She said, taking the boy back into her own arms.

"Are you sure? If you just gave me the directions I could do it." Shade offered.

"**No, you three have been through enough. Go home."** She ordered.

They all gave her thankful looks, then Shade and Daniel took to the air, carrying Michael between them.

Raven turned to the rest, **"I'll just come back when I'm done."** She said, de-transforming. "Don't wait up for me. Mom, you can sleep in my room, I'll take the couch. Alright?" No one was willing to argue, they just nodded as she flew into the air, the boy still in her arms.

She wanted to sleep, she wanted very badly to land on top of one of the buildings and collapse onto the ground. But she couldn't, not yet.

Soon she arrived at a very nice looking estate. If she'd been more awake, she would have admired the yard, all the huge bushes cut into animals, and the fountains carved with ethereal beings. The house was huge too, it seemed the boy's family was extremely rich. Raven sighed to herself, rich boys' parents were always stereotypically neglectful, she could only pray that this wasn't the case with his family. After the night's trauma, even though most of it was erased when she took away the memory, he was going to need a lot of care and attention from now on.

Raven rang the doorbell, according to the lights, there were probably a good many people still awake. Sure enough, an immaculate butler opened the door and looked down his nose at her, "Yee—GOOD GOD!" He suddenly gasped, seeing the boy in her arms. "Master Vincent! Someone, wake Mr. Gray! Do it now! Tell him someone has found his son!" He cried. "Please, please come in, young lady." He said to Raven, bowing as she stepped onto the large foyer.

"Thank you." She said when a plump, tear stricken nurse swept in and took young Vincent from her arms. She massaged them tenderly; it was no easy task carrying a boy over the city. Though she was surprised she'd managed it. It was probably her demon form leaking into her, giving her strength. Not that she was complaining.

"Please sit down." Said the butler, showing her to the large, very richly furnished living room. "The master will be with you as soon as possible." He said.

Raven took a seat gratefully. She laid back and closed her eyes, so tired. But she couldn't sleep yet, she had to tell the boy's parents what had happened, and she had to tell them what they were going to _have_ to do now. She never did like handling the public, even though it was her specialty due to her natural empathic abilities.

She only had to wait a few minutes before Mr. Gray burst into the room, Mrs. Gray skirting behind him in a relieved sort of panic. "Where is he? Where's Vincent!" She cried.

The nurse brought him in and laid him on the couch. She'd put pajamas on him, and another servant came in with Raven's white cloak, folded neatly. Raven stood up while Mrs. Gray wept over her son, and went over to them. "He's been through a very traumatic experience." She said grimly, finally drawing attention to herself. "He'll have no memories of what happened, but that doesn't mean he won't feel the after effects. In truth, memories can never fully be taken, only suppressed. I took as much as I could and suppressed the rest, but he may still remember eventually. Bits and pieces, but they'll be enough. I suggest getting him a psychologist and a psychiatrist as soon as you can, and pay close attention to his dreams, especially if he wakes up screaming. If all goes well, he need never remember anything at all and he'll grow up, never knowing any of this happened." She told them.

They stared at her. "W-what _did_ happen?" Mr. Gray whispered.

Raven shook her head, "Something no child should _ever_ have to go through. I'd rather you not know, so that nothing you let slip will trigger anything. Just know that I will personally make sure it never happens again, to _any_ child." She told them.

They nodded numbly, both with terrified looks on their faces, but they were prepared to leave it be. "Mr. Dowell, get my checkbook." Mr. Gray ordered.

Raven blinked, "Oh please, I didn't do this for a reward. Spend that money on your son, he'll need it." She said.

"No," Mr. Gray said firmly, taking the checkbook from the butler and pulling out a pen, "I promised a 10,000 dollar reward to whoever found my son, and I always keep my promises. You've done more than just find him, so you well deserve 11,000." He said, writing it out.

"I won't take it." Raven said with a sigh as she put her cloak back around her shoulders. "I don't need it, give it to charity or something." She tried, but he forced the paper into her hand.

"You _are_ charity. By supporting the Teen Titans, I'll be supporting all of Jump City. You deserve this." He insisted. "And I won't take no for an answer."

Raven was too tired to argue. But she still tried, "I'd have done this if you were dirt poor and couldn't afford to give me a cookie, I don't need the money." She insisted. But then sighed at the determined look on his face, "Alright, alright, you win." She pocketed the check. "I'm going home, pardon my sudden exit but I'm really tired." She explained.

"No, of course." Said Mrs. Gray. "But won't you come back and have dinner with us sometime?" She begged.

"I'll think about it." Raven promised. She was too exhausted to say no, and with the last of her power she teleported herself into the living room of the T-Tower. In the long run, it was better than flying back.

She decided to just pull off her cloak and belt and sleep on the couch as she was. Eyes half closed, she let the items fall on the side, and was about to slump onto the couch, when a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her shoulders, and pulled her down so that now she was on the couch, on top of Malchior.

Raven sighed, "Why am I not surprised?" She asked groggily.

"Probably because you think I'm Malchior right now." The owner answered. Raven's eyes widened.

"_Rorek_!" She exclaimed, now much more awake than she had been when she'd teleported.

Rorek gave a small laugh, "Yeah, I know, I'm a little surprised myself. I think Malchior and I merged a bit more because I have the urge to start kissing your neck." He said.

"A mixed blessing then." She said yawning. "Oh well, I'm too tired to care." She said, turning herself around so that she could lie on him in a more comfortable position, for the both of them. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, feeling his arms wrapped securely around her form.

XD

"You know, _normally_ I would be saying something along the lines of, 'You're suppose to be in a _bed_, and without clothes too.' But as it's _my woman_ who's lying on top of you, I think I'll stick with beating you to a pulp."

"Malchior, you are _this close_ to becoming black and blue." Raven growled groggily, only opening one eye to glare at him. "I don't _belong_ to either of you, and seeing as you've done worse than this several times, you really have no right to strangle Rorek over it." She said. "Now go back to bed, it's not even noon yet." She told him, closing her eyes back. So far Rorek hadn't waken up yet, which was a good thing as she didn't want to move just yet.

"But, but, I wanted to do that." Malchior wined immaturely.

"Back to bed _now_." She ordered, turning her head so that she wasn't facing him. "It's too early for this."

Malchior grumbled something incoherent, but left anyways, though very grumpy and reluctantly.

Raven let out a relaxing sigh. She could feel Rorek's bare chest, rising and falling with his breathing, could hear his heart beating at a constant rate. His arms had stayed around her throughout the night, which seemed to have given her a few very calming dreams about someone, probably him, but she couldn't remember that well. She was about to doze off again, but Rorek shifted, his arms giving her a little squeeze.

She raised her head and met his crystal blue eyes. They smiled to each other, "Sleep well?" Rorek asked.

"Yeah, much better actually." She answered. "Though Malchior woke me up a few moments ago." She answered grumpily.

"Oh so that was him? Hm, surprised he didn't start pounding my face in." Rorek chuckled.

"He was about to, but I made him go back to bed." She said, bringing her arms around to hug herself closer to him, rather than push herself up.

Apparently encouraged by this, Rorek brought her up a bit so he could kiss her, first lightly, and then when she didn't appear to mind at the moment, a little more passionately. There was a difference, a big difference. Rorek was much more confidante now, he pushed in a lot more than he use to, and even began moving his hands up and down her waist and back. And while she wouldn't admit it aloud, Raven couldn't help but feel this was a definite improvement. Especially since she knew he would stop the moment she gave him any sign that he was going a little too far.

But, predictably, their kiss just _had_ to be interrupted, _again_. "_Ahem_!" Coughed a voice that made every synapse of Raven's brain switch on in instant warning.

"M-mother!" Raven gasped, practically leaping off Rorek, whose eyes were wide and his face a deep crimson color. He swiftly summoned the rest of his wardrobe, and was looking deeply ashamed. "Um, I can explain." She said to Arella's severe face.

But the woman's expression broke into a grin as she burst out into a fit of laughter, "It's okay Raven!" She exclaimed. "Don't look so alarmed, I completely understand. But the look on your face was priceless dear!" She said.

Raven visibly relaxed and gave her mother an incredulous look. "Don't _do_ that to me!" She exclaimed, pulling at her hair.

"I'm sorry, but I had to get my bit in before I left again. Don't look so ashamed, Rorek! From what I understand you're far better than your counterpart." She said.

"Er, well, ah," Rorek fumbled, not knowing how to respond to that, so he just kept his eyes on his hands.

"Wait, leave? Aren't you going to stay for a while?" Raven asked, looking surprised. "I mean, you came all this way…"

But Arella smiled, "I'll stay for a day or two, but, as you yourself implied, it wouldn't be a good idea for my presence to be known. No one recognized me because of the hoods, but if anyone did I'd become a danger to you. In fact, I should probably leave tomorrow at the latest. But I promise I'll come and visit when all of this had cleared away. Just keep sending me letters so I know what's going on." She said.

"Al, alright." Raven sighed. That was right, Judora escaped again, she was still at large. And even though a lot of the Blood Clan had been slaughtered, that didn't mean there wasn't enough left for her to have desired rituals preformed. But now Balegor was dead, they had no Brother Blood for the time being. That, at least, was an improvement. But if Judora knew Raven's mother was here…well, it would be bad to say the least.

Arella put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, causing the girl to look up curiously. "Here, when everything is said and done and all of this has been settled, we can spend the rest of the day together, just you and me. If that's not a problem anyway." She said.

Raven sighed. Likely, when everything was taken care of for the time being, there'd be very little of the day left to spend with her mother. But a little time was better than none, so she nodded.

"Alright, so why don't you fill me in on what's been going on, you know, what you _didn't_ put in your letters, and we can go from there." Arella suggested.

Raven nodded and forced herself to smile a bit. Rorek, getting the hint, slipped out of the living room to leave them alone so Raven could spill her guts out to her mother.

XD

By the time Raven had finished, all the Titans were up and congregated in the kitchen, eating their breakfast, practically like zombies. Raven couldn't help but notice that Malchior and Rorek both had been tied up with iron chains and gagged with, what could be none other than, wads of Beast Boy's stinky socks, of which they were fairly certain Malchior was _not_ going to swallow, and were glaring at each other.

Arella, upon seeing this, tried to suppress her giggles, and failed miserably.

"Too tired to deal with them, so I tied them up, and Beast Boy gagged them." Zacroma explained, looking as though she were still only half awake. Beast Boy was currently snoring, his head beside his bowl of cerial, while he was still holding the spoon that was inside it, and Cyborg looked like he would have given anything for a brand new battery. The only one who seemed awake at all was Starfire, and even she didn't have her usual energetic air about her. Robin was currently washing out his bowl, and Raven had to remind him that scrubbing a bowl with a spoon wasn't going to work.

"Beast Boy, you must wake up now or your puffy lumps will get soggy." Starfire said, poking her friend in the shoulder.

"But I don't wanna ride the giant snake mommy, I wanna go hiking on Jupiter…" He mumbled.

"I'd laugh, but I don't have the energy." Cyborg muttered, stuffing another spoonful into his mouth.

"But there's spiders on mars…" Beast Boy muttered.

"Beast Boy, there's a spider on your leg." Raven said.

"AAAAAHHH!" he yelled, shooting up into the ceiling where he turned into a giant spider himself so he could stick. This had two effects. First, it woke everyone up, second, it had them all laughing hysterically. Save Malchior and Rorek, who were still bound and gagged. "Very funny." Beast Boy grumbled, falling back onto his seat in his usual form. But at least he was awake as well.

Eventually, everyone got their breakfast and then settled themselves down in the living room, even Malchior and Rorek behaved as they went over the last nights events.

"Raven, Malchior told us about your dreams, how you've been having them for a while, and a good many of the fine details I think. So, as I'm sure you told them to your mother as well, we can just skip all of that." Robin said.

Raven sighed in relief, "Good. Look, I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but when we decided we probably should, it never came up." She explained.

"It's okay, but you should have at least asked me. I know I could have given you a better foundation for them." Zacroma said. "Your dreams, when you hear people talking? It's not about codes and such, these people are, were, or will be, real people saying these things. And when you see something, these blue, green rimmed eyes for instance, they're real eyes. It isn't all just symbolism and such." She told them.

Arella nodded, "Human dreams are like that, but they aren't as vivid as yours, especially the ones that cause you pain and strong emotion. These are real events, fuddled maybe, but those diary entries, they probably are, real diary entries." She said.

"By the way," Rorek came up, he looked at Raven, but then looked away, "It…it's…well, how do I put this…? Raven, _is_ Avelona reincarnated. I, I saw a book in Judora's study. It had a picture of Trigon, and a picture of Avelona. They look almost exactly alike. Especially their eyes." He said.

"So? Raven's mother has the same eyes, they could be descendants." Malchior came up.

"No, listen to me." Rorek said, shifting uncomfortably. "When I saw that picture I…I had, well, memories came to me, like they did to Raven. I remembered when I had first seen this Avelona, I remembered when we were one, when we saw her. Everything about her, those thoughts we had, I had the same about Raven."

"Wait, you mean…?" Raven began, her eyes widening.

"I think, I know what happened, what made Judora turn from the White Magus, into the Black Magus." Rorek said, nodding to her. "He told you, about our connection with her right?" He asked.

Everyone looked at each other, and only Arella understood.

"No, because it doesn't really matter, does it?" Malchior asked through clenched teeth.

"It does." Rorek said. "You remember when we mentioned the White Magus, correct?" Everyone nodded, "Well,"

"They don't need to know that!" Malchior hissed, but Rorek ignored him.

"The White Magus use to be our lover." Rorek answered loudly, pointedly defying Malchior. "But apparently when her rival, Avelona, showed up, we fell in love with _her_ instead. And that's what got her angry enough to split us up." He said.

"That might have been part of it." Raven came up. Everyone looked at her. Her expression was grim and thoughtful. "I had another dream, when you all thought I was dead. I read another of those diary entries, and then I heard two people talking. One of them was Judora, and one of them was Avelona. But, well, to be honest, it was Avelona who sounded more like the bad guy." She explained.

"What!" They all exclaimed.

"Judora was adopted by Avelona's mother, and Avelona was always afraid and resentful of her, hating her because of the demons Judora was possessed by. She loathed the demons to a point that she refused to consider Judora her family at all, even though it seemed Judora had continuously tried to become her sister. I think Avelona tried to kill her, and then they became rivals, but the rolls were switched because Judora, knowing that Avelona would forever hate her, became bitter and cold. She eventually summoned a demon to transfuse with her body, tainting herself far more than anyone else has because of the demons already possessing her, and used this to wedge a war with her sister." Raven explained.

"Yes, yes it makes sense!" Rorek said. Now everyone looked at him. "When I was fighting Judora, I asked her why she hated Avelona so much. She said, 'I don't hate her, I never hated her, we're family after all'. And also, something else she said…" Rorek took a deep breath, "She said that, she'd warped our minds once, mine and Malchior's, and that she could do it again. I think, I think she made us believe we were in love with her at first, because we were a gray dragon and the most powerful of them all. She wanted that power. But when Avelona showed up, the spell must have been broken because we became _really_ attracted to her instead. Judora must have split us up out of spite." He explained.

"Um, I have a headache now. So is Judora the good guy, or the bad guy, because I'm pretty sure she's the bad guy?" Beast Boy asked.

"She's the bad guy, but it isn't exactly her fault that she is. She was possessed by demons already, and it might have been better if Avelona had not been so cruel to her either." Raven answered frowning.

"I think I understand. So all of this is tied to the past, but you three can't remember all of it. Yet I'm sure she knows every detail, and is just relishing in the fact that you don't." Zacroma insurted.

The three of them sighed and nodded. Robin caught Raven's eye and he said, "Everything's just been happening to you, hasn't it? And I though _I_ had it bad with Slade."

Raven couldn't help but smile.

"Uh, okay, now here's a question," Beast Boy said, "What's with all this 'Zira' stuff? I thought your name was Zacroma."

Raven suddenly choked on nothing, "W-what!" She cried, staring at Zacroma, who was starting to sweat guiltily. There was a pause, in which Raven was merely gawking at Zacroma for a moment, apparently frozen in disbelief, "_You're_ Zira!" She finally shrieked.

"Um…Yeah?" Zacroma piped, looking small and all the more guilty.

"But who's Zira!" Beast Boy cried.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Raven suddenly exploded, standing up. "How could you, why didn't you tell—What were you thinking! You—you, how could you be Zira and not even _tell me_! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA JUST HOW CLOSE YOU'VE COME TO DESTROYING, NOT JUST YOURSELF, BUT THE ENTIRE WORLD!" She roared, looming over Zacroma, who looked even more nervous and scared than she had with Arella, and with good reason.

"Hey! Raven back off, what are you yelling for! She hasn't done anything but help us, why are you berating her!" Beast Boy demanded, coming to stand in front of Zacroma protectively.

"Show them Zira." Arella ordered. Zacroma paled and regarded Arella with a terrified look. "Do it." She said firmly, before Zacroma could answer.

Looking as though she were about to start crying, Zacroma shakily stood up, and turned her back to everyone. Raven fell onto the couch and clutched her head in her hands. Zacroma then pulled her shirt up, enough to expose the whole of her back to them.

Everyone gasped, save Raven and Arella. On each shoulder blade, was a long, symmetrical, and ugly scar.

"I see," Said Malchior calmly. "You're half angel, aren't you?"

XP

A/N: Um, I think we've already established the fact that I am, in fact, evil. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Kage no ni yoru: Okay good, few! But yeah, I knew you were kidding so I didn't really think you were lesbo or anything. And there's nothing wrong with fluff, but when it makes you want to puke it's kind of bad. And what I'm talking about is the "Oh Raven, I love you so much!" "Oh Malchior/Rorek, I love you too! (Kissy kissy smooch)" yeah, that's what I see as puke-worthy. So we might have different opinions on that. And I don't have a problem putting in a little heat (as it is plane) but sex, well, it's just _too_ personal a thing to write about, y'know? Feels like you're intruding a little too much and really have no business being there. So yeah. Hope you liked the chapter!

LivingImpared: You don't have problems, Malchior's _hot_, what girl _wouldn't_ like him?

Storm Front: Oh boy! Well, I hope you do good on your test. And I didn't update right after you pressed the button (obviously) But at least I updated the same night! And yeah, we'll be seeing more of Arella, but not much, sorry. However I'll probably bring her back later on so cross your fingers!

Well, that's all I have to say there, because you guys are falling down on the job out there. REVIEW DARN IT! Or else I might start to get depressed and think you all got bored of my story and lose my drive, (sniff). Motivation makes the chapters come out faster, and there's nothing more motivating than a few nice reviews, as you all should know. So _preeeeeeeess the buuuuuuttoooooon_. You know you want to.

Ja ne!


	14. Angel Half

A/N: AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 14! _Wow_,talk about stating the obvious…

XP

_Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer  
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.  
Wretch,' I cried, thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee  
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!  
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'  
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

"At first, Mom kept trying to tell me that my father had died before I was born. She told people I had an eye disease that was incurable, and she kept dying my hair. I believed her, everyone did, who'd suspect the truth after all?

"I think my first clue was when I had a pet bunny that was killed by a fox. I remember having it's bloody heap in my hands and crying after chasing the fox away with a stick, when suddenly it just seemed to start filling itself back out again and started nibbling my thumb like it always did. I was so happy, but when I told Mom, she looked so frightened. She took the bunny and chopped his head off and told me to never do it again. But it kept happening. I would find dead animals and they'd just come back to life when I picked them up, I couldn't help it.

"The last straw was when I was playing with this boy, he was a friend of mine but I can't remember his name anymore. Well, we were playing somewhere that was really dangerous, it was a cliff I think. Well, he fell off. So I ran down the safe way to reach him, but I knew he was dead, he was a bloody mess, practically all his limbs were askew and his head had been cracked open on a rock. I picked him up in my arms and cried without even thinking, and the next thing I know he's just fine, looking at me strangely and asking what had happened. I told Mom of course, I had to, and she completely freaked.

"We left that town and began traveling, by then my wings were starting to sprout and they were really hurting. Mom made me put on huge sweaters and bound them tightly to my back, but eventually it was no use. Thankfully, when I was discovered, it was by none other than Azar herself.

"I was probably a lot younger than Raven, but then she grew up slower than humans, and I was growing up faster. This January I'll be 13 years old in human years if that gives you an idea.

"When Mom finally broke down and told Azar what I really was, I was immediately brought into priestess-hood. I remember everyone always gave me furtive looks, whispering behind my back about me, thinking that I should be destroyed."

"What! Why!" Beast Boy interrupted, "You're half _angel_, what's with all that!"

"It's forbidden." Raven answered. "An angel indulging themselves in worldly sins, such a thing probably killed Zira's father."

"Yes. He didn't die before I was born, he died _because_ I was born. There's a difference." Zacroma added.

"But Azar, and the Council, believed that Zira had been spared for a reason, that it was God's will she live. Such a thing has never happened before, and when it did the Angels had fallen, and the child born never lived long, but their wings were always black. Zira, however, had pure white wings made from, what can only be described as, crystallized light." Arella came in. "Then one day, when Raven was still learning to suppress her powers, she lost control. Zira had been there for only two months, and she'd been the third to see what went wrong. The other two died, but when she entered the room, Raven instantly regained control. It was a long time ago," She said, turning to Raven, "You wouldn't have remembered." Raven nodded her understanding.

"So they decided that I was to be the other half of Raven, a yin-yang sort of thing, though not at all like Malchior and Rorek, obviously. But, it was actually more than once, my presence had been able to null the disastrous effects of Raven's unchecked power. A half demon, and a half angel, together we could cancel each other's unfavorable power. Because after I touched Raven, I no longer began doing things without meaning to. Dead animals I happen to touch stay dead, and…other things began to go away as well.

"As an angel, I'm unable to use any magic, but as half-human, I can still use some. But my initial powers, the ability to manipulate metal, that's only part of it. I only chose that, because metal is the element I have the most affinity with, it was the easiest for me to learn by myself. I can use just about every earthly element, though. But just because I can, doesn't mean I'm able to. I've still yet to so much as light a match without using magic, I can make water move a little, but that's it, and as for earth, I can barely cause any degree of a tremor. I can, however, make my own light quite easily, I can even craft my own rosary from thin air, and turn regular water into holy water." She explained.

"So, what's so bad about you coming to Earth and helping us out?" Robin asked.

"It wasn't that, so much. We'd planned on having her join Raven as soon as it was possible." Arella answered. "But there were a few difficulties, things changed. Raven left on her own and Zira wasn't ready yet. And then it was discovered that the Blood Clan was congregating on Earth. And while we knew this could only mean the worst, especially for Raven, the Council decided that having Zira anywhere near there was practically asking for the Apocalypse to come."

"But _how_? _Why_ would having Zacroma here do anything but _help_ Raven keep herself from going demonic!" Demanded Beast Boy, pulling on his hair in frustration as no one seemed to be giving them the right answer.

"Isn't it _obvious_!" Malchior snapped. "Alright, let me spell it out for you. Everything about the Blood Clan revolves around dodged attempts at trying to control the entity known as Blood. It's like an element, but a lot more advanced. Every living thing has its own form of blood. The fabric of reality is given color by blood if you want to speak in metaphors. Every dark ritual, every spell, every single solitary bit of power that they use revolves around _blood_. Get it? Blood Clan, they use magic formed from Blood, they make members by putting demon _blood_ into their system, they draw pentegrams with _blood_!" He explained.

"So?" Beast Boy asked.

"_Angel blood_, you idiot!" The dark dragon hissed.

"If Judora found out, if they got Zira, they wouldn't need Malchior and Rorek to resurrect Trigon, they wouldn't need you all in order to revert me back to the way I was. Just a drop, and Judora could twist reality, time and space wouldn't matter, she could go far beyond the vague limits of magic, and tap into the very powers of God. The apocalypse isn't the worst she could do. The only thing that might hamper her, is that Zira is still half human as well. But since this sort of thing has only happened once, we have no idea what to expect. Judora probably couldn't go as far as the whole God's powers thing, but who's to say that's entirely true?" Raven explained.

Everyone stared, gawking. Beast Boy, however, still seemed convinced that Raven and Arella were taking things a little too far and stayed protectively next to Zacroma, who was hiding her face in her hands. "I thought," She whispered, "That if no one knew, if I changed my name, if I put an illusion over my eyes and kept dying my hair different colors, it wouldn't even come up. How could the Blood Clan find out if no one knows about me? I mean, if not even Raven recognized me, I must have been kept a deadly secret of some sort." She said, her voice shaking with suppressed sobs.

"But why, Zira, why did you feel so strongly that you had to defy the Council and come, even though the risk was so great?" Arella asked kindly.

"I had a vision!" Zacroma wailed, almost in defiance, "But no one would listen! They all thought I just wanted to leave, to find Raven because I was foolish in thinking I was ready. I tried to tell them, I tried to tell anyone who would listen! But no one would listen to me, and the council brushed it off as another of my acts. But it was true! It happened! And I know that if I wasn't there, I mean, I know I didn't have everything to do with it, but if I hadn't been there, if I wasn't _around_, Raven might have stayed demonic. Trigon would have been so much more powerful and, and I'm not bragging either! It was real! Just because I was there, I didn't even do much but save the Titans and give Raven the rings. But, but I was able to change it! I was in the right! And, and I think I'm in the right now too!" She said, standing up defiantly even though there were tears still streaming down her eyes. She stared at both Raven and Arella. "I'm staying here, I'm going to fulfill the role I was meant to. You can't make me go back, neither of you can! Because _I_ know this is where I'm suppose to be! This is where I'm needed, risk or no risk." She told them all.

No one said anything, most of them probably felt this was really a problem between Zacroma, Raven, and the Azarath Council. So they didn't have much say in the matter. Beast Boy, however, had an expression of furious agreement, and was glaring at them all, especially Raven.

But Raven wasn't looking at Zacroma, she had her eyes closed and was bent over, her hands clasped up to her face, propped up on her knees. She looked like she was thinking really hard, and Arella was watching her, waiting for her response. Finally, Raven opened her eyes. "She's right, Mother. Thinking back now, she's right. I remember her hovering near me as I released the Blackfire Butterflies on Trigon, I remember that, many of the attacks the Titans made on him, even Rorek and Malchior's combined force, were doing much more harm than they really should have. I never really sensed it, I never thought about it, but I realize that she's right. And she's the reason, the real reason, I was purified as well." Raven turned her eyes to Arella, "You'll have to tell the Council that she isn't coming back, due to the fact that she belongs here and if they disagree they can shove it up their high and mighty a—"

"I will do that then." Arella interrupted loudly.

A sudden round of cheering broke out, lead, of course, by Beast Boy, who had his arms around Zacroma's shoulders and was singing, "She's staying, she's staying!" over and over in a very 'so there!' tone of voice. In fact, soon everyone was gathering around her, hugging her and patting her, even Malchior ruffled her hair with a smirk. Zacroma looked like she was about to start crying again, though for quite a different reason.

XD

"This is, basically, where I work. But I also like to just hang around here and relax." Raven said.

"I love the music that's playing." Arella commented.

"That's a band called Nightwish, Alabaster's plays it all the time. This one's called The Riddler." Raven told her. She then looked at the cash redgister and saw Auron there, messing with something in the desk so his head was down. "That's Auron, just Auron. He runs this place, and though he's rather superficial about the whole 'goth look' thing, he does a good job. So far he's managed with just one employee working full time, and me at nights. I don't think he leaves the store himself though." She explained.

"I see. Hm, excuse me." Arella said, walking over to Auron, who, when he looked up, jumped about ten feet in the air.

"R-Raven! Raven what tha—alright this is too much. The hair, I can understand, but how did you just, get older! And _why_!" Auron exclaimed, flabbergasted.

Arella bit her lip, obviously trying with all her might to keep from bursting into a fit of helpless laughter. Raven side-stepped around her mother and drew Auron's attention to her, "Ahem, I'm right here, Auron." She said.

Auron let out a deep sigh of relief. "So sorry miss! I thought, well, are you two sisters or something?" He asked.

Arella's eyes widened, and the two of them looked at each other. "I think that's one of the most flattering things someone has ever asked me." She said.

"Well, you do look barely a day older than 20." Raven pointed out. "No, Auron, this is my mother." She said.

Auron's jaw dropped, "Y-you can't be serious!" He exclaimed, starring at Arella transfixed.

But she smiled, "Quite serious. Though where I live, the magic in the air probably reacted with my body chemistry in such a way that it's slowed my aging process to a crawl. It happens to a lot of people, so we don't think it abnormal to be around 40 or so and still look like, well, this." She answered, gesturing to herself.

"You're 40?" Auron asked blankly.

"Oh heavens no! I have to be 60 at least." Arella said considering.

"Mother." Raven grumbled, "She's joking." She told Auron's stunned face.

"Oh! W-well, um, would you like some coffee?" He asked, gesturing to the automatic coffee makers (which required money to work of course).

"No thanks, I never could stand the stuff." Arella said with a grimace. "I'm Arella by the way, Mr. Auron." She said, extending her hand to him.

"A-a pleasure." Auron stammered. "I guess Raven's told you about me," He said.

"Yes, she works for you correct?"

"Yes, and may I say she is my best employee, for more reasons than one. It's obvious where she gets her good looks and—"

"Auron, if you don't stop this pathetic excuse for flirting, with my _mother_, I will kill you." Raven said.

Auron froze, let go of Arella's hand, and then turned, "Uh, right, well, I should be getting to…something. Nice to meet you!" He said, looking for a liable 'something'.

Arella was biting her lip so hard Raven was worried she might draw blood the next moment, so she took her mother over to an empty table so she could collapse onto it in a fit of helpless giggles.

"So," She began when she had calmed herself down, "Why don't you tell me a little more about this dragon problem, as I am quite certain you must have a lot of stress built up over it."

"Oh boy." Raven said with a huge sigh, "You have no idea. Having one boyfriend is bad enough, though I wouldn't know quite yet, I've never been in this sort of relationship before. But having _two_? It's a nightmare! And I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl who's ever gone through this particular situation. It isn't that I don't _want_ to pick one, it's that I _can't_. I don't exactly have a choice in the matter either. The frustrating part is that they _know_ this, but they still can't help but fight over the whole thing. You wouldn't _believe_ how much they squabble, most of it being through their mental link. I don't catch any words, but do know that it happens. The only reason it hasn't progressed past a few fist-fights here and there is out of respect for me and the other titans."

"Can't say I've had any experience in that area. Well, I think there were actually a few times in high school that some guys began to fight over me, but I only noticed because one of my friends pointed it out and told me that an actual brawl had started. But that eventually died. I think it was only because I had just transferred and a lot of guys had recently been dumped by preppy cheerleader girlfriends and wanted to try something new. Well, I was definitely new, dark and mysterious with a bit of henna drawn around my eyes in eyeliner, pentacle around my neck and everything. But after a while it became, well, creepy. So I can't really give you advice from personal experiences, I did marry Satan after all. The best 'motherly advice' I can give you is to keep your head until they merge. _Then_ you'll have enough experience with two relationships that one will be a breeze." Arella explained.

"You married Satan!" Exclaimed a goth who just happened to hear that part of the conversation.

"She's joking!" Raven snapped. The girl, looking a little put out, slumped on over to the table that had been her initial destination. "Wishful thinking." She muttered.

"Hers, or yours?"

"Both." Raven rubbed a hand over her eyes a moment as her mother snickered. "I guess we could go visit the museum Rorek and I went to next and—" She blinked, her eyes fixed on something odd on the far wall behind her mother.

"Hm? And what?" Arella asked.

"Is that—?" Raven got up and moved, walking through the tables to get a better look.

The mask was plane, rather dull, but almost a perfect replica of a face, though it wasn't at all human. It was hard to tell whether it was male or female, there was no hair, the eyes were closed, and it was expressionless. But it had long, pointed ears on it. What made it interesting was the web of different colors that made the skin. Something that could be done quite easily with a lot of different paints, but somehow it seemed…different.

"Raven? What is it?" Asked Arella.

"This mask, what do you make of it?" she responded, "There's something…off, something, I'm not sure."

"Hm…" Arella peered at it. "Just looks like the mold of an elf's face, but a color happy painter got a hold of it." She said shrugging. "I might have more of an extra sense, but I can't pick up everything."

Raven tapped her lips in thought, then turned, "Auron?" She asked, her eyes directly on the spot where Auron had ever-so-descretely been lingering with books in his hands.

He jumped a bit when she addressed him, "Er, yes?" He asked, trying to look as if he'd just noticed them.

"Is this mask for sale?" She questioned.

"What?"

"This mask, is it for sail?" Raven repeated, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Oh, um, yes!" He answered quickly, his eyes flickering over to Arella, who was expertly schooling her features now and pretended not to notice. "But it's, ah, that was really hard to get. It's very old, a collectors item I think. It was really expensive." He told her.

"How much did you pay for it?" Raven asked.

Auron bit his lip, "A little over 5,000 dolars, not including taxes so—"

"I'll give you 7,000." Raven told him firmly.

Auron jumped and stared at her in shock, "Just how much am I paying you!" He exclaimed.

"Definitely not enough to afford it, but recently a 11,000 dollar check was forced into my hand after I rescued a boy who'd been kidnapped from an extremely wealthy family. I just cashed it a few moments ago, so I just need to summon a check from the Tower and write it out." She answered.

"O-kay. I'll…go get the proof-of-ownership…" Auron said, deciding, wisely, not to question further. Arella broke down into a fit of suppressed giggles when he was far enough away not to notice.

XD

"YOU SPENT 7,000 DOLLARS ON A FRIGG'N _MASK_!" Beast Boy yelled. "OF ALL THE THINGS YOU COULD HAVE—"

"Wow, I'm impressed. This could have sold for over 100,000 if my estimation of modern currency is correct." Rorek marveled, feeling the mask with his hands. Beast Boy facefaulted.

"So you can sense something too?" Raven asked.

"Duh." Came in Malchior, craning his head around Rorek to look at it. "It's hard to make out, but there's definitely some extremely powerful magic going on in there. Have you tried putting it on yet?" He asked.

"No."

"Good. Don't." Rorek said, putting the mask back into the cushioning of its box with much care. "In one land I was in, a magic-user of the ancient tribes, called shamanists, used masks like this to cast their spells and perform odd rituals. Their magic dealt with the dead, so the slightest thing we do _could_ summon some spirit or ghost or something. Which would either be bad, or good, but I don't think we want to risk it." he said.

"Somehow, I doubt that's what it is." Raven said.

"Yeah, from what I've seen, all those masks had a sort of animalistic theme to them, this one doesn't look anything like a witchdoctor or shaman mask." Robin commented.

"True, but still." Rorek persisted.

"I understand. I think once I do a bit of studying and a few simple spells, I'll be able to figure it out." Raven said.

"Do you have a hunch?" Asked Malchior.

"Actually, I think I—"

BOOOM!

There was a pause, in which everyone in the room stared at each other, wide eyed, and then they all scrambled into the kitchen at the same time.

Zacroma was there, completely covered in ash, with oven the oven opened up in front of her, smoking profusely. The sprinklers kicked on the next moment, showering everyone needlessly. "WAAAAAAA!" Zacroma bawled, "MY CAKE'S RUINED, AGAIN!"

"Alright, Zacroma, I didn't want to do this but I am going to have to make an official rule now that you've managed to set off the fire alarm _twice_. You are no longer allowed to cook, _at all_. Just stick with the instant meals, alright?" Robin told her.

Zacroma sighed, "Oh okay." She wined miserably.

XD

"**If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?"**

"**That we would be together forever."**

"**Seriously."**

"**I am being serious."**

"**No, you're saying that because you think I want to hear it. Tell me honestly, if there was something in your life you could change, what would it be? If it could be anything."**

"**Hm, well, if I was to be selfish, I'd say, that I'd never have to be separated from you."**

"**Malorek Rechior, you know what I mean!"**

"**Ouch, full name! But I am being serious, Love. What was my life like before I met you, hm? I'll tell you what it was, boring, mundane. Time after time of trying to find some sweet little someone to fill the void in my chest, and then I find the most beautiful woman in the cosmos. What could I possibly want to change? Save seeing you smile maybe."**

"**There's nothing else you want? What about your mother, wouldn't you have wanted to be raised by her instead of your father? What if you had sisters or brothers, wouldn't you want to meet them?"**

"**Love, what do _you_ wish for?"**

"…**I wish my sister would love me."**

"**You have a sister?"**

"…**.No."**

"RAAAAVEEEEEEEN! GUESS WHAAAAAAAAAT!" Cried a voice, coming from out of nowhere.

"AAAHH!" Raven screamed, jerking awake with such a jolt, that she actually _sent_ a jolt across the room to the fool who opened her door.

Zacroma, fried to a crisp, fell to the ground as Raven assessed the rest of the damage she had done. The hangman tapestry over the door of her secret room had been ripped in half, books had flown out of one of her shelves but no harm really done to them, and it looked like she would be needing some new bedcovers.

"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea." Beast Boy said over Zacroma, who merely whimpered in response.

"Sorry, Zacroma. But you should _know_ better than to do that." Raven sighed, coming over to her so she could fix the damage she'd done. "What!" She demanded, seeing that Beast Boy was gawking at her.

"Raven, you _do_ look good in a dress!" He exclaimed.

Raven, suddenly realizing that she was in her nightgown, blushed and sent Beast Boy heading straight for the wall on the farthest end of the hallway. She then changed into her usual outfit and bent over Zacroma to begin healing.

"Ahem, anyway!" Zacroma said, perking back up the moment she was all healed. "Sorry to wake you up but it's, you know, _noon_. Though you did stay up late bonding with your mother before she left so I guess I should have waited until you came downstairs. But, past is past, and I have this really cool idea that Robin's agreed to because he's male and therefore cannot resist Starfire's puppy-dog eyes! And the fact that they're _dating_ helps too. Anyway! We are going to go to this hot new dance-club tonight yo! It's got sweet music, dance floor, and even some places where you can just sit down and order some food. It's even got a bar, which probably sells illegal drugs to underage teens but we'll just overlook that part." She said excitedly.

Raven stared at her for a moment, the girl seemed really hyped up about the whole thing. The last person to get them to go to a dance club was Starfire's evil older sister Blackfire, but she had to admit it wasn't a complete waste of time. But still. "Why?"

"Because, well, we need a little bit of a break after the whole Judora thing, you know, get our systems cleared out and stuff! Last time you guys went to one I hear Starfire didn't have that great of a time, seeing as how she was _attacked_, but this should be different because now she has been adequately schooled in teenage social lingo and stuff. Also, this time I will make sure that you, especially, enjoy yourself." Zacroma declared.

Raven suddenly recognized the mischievous glint in Zacroma's eyes, and paled. "Um, you're not going to—"

"Of course I am!" Zacroma cried, practically dragging an extremely reluctant Raven along behind her as she ran down the hall. "We'll be at the mall Beast Boy!" She told the green blob that was stuck to the wall.

"Wait! Wait Zacroma I've got to write something down!" Raven exclaimed, struggling.

Zacroma stopped, "What, did you have another dream?" She asked, suddenly serious.

"Yes." Raven answered, summoning her notepad from her room. "So will you calm down for a few minutes and let me think over it?" She asked.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Raven, I didn't think…well, I guess being wakened from a dream like that _would_ be an unnecessary shock, but…do you have them every time you fall asleep?" Zacroma questioned.

"Pretty much, though most just feel like normal dreams, yet the same as the others. But some, like this one, I get something new, something very vivid." Raven answered as she scribbled the words she could remember down swiftly. "But this one, it was strange…confusing."

"How so?"

"Well, Judora was the one who always wanted Avelona to see her as a sister, and Avelona hated her because she was already possessed by demons. But in this dream…I don't know. We think that Judora wove a spell to make Malorek fall in love with—"

"Who?"

"Malorek, oh! Yeah, I heard his name in this dream too. Malorek Rechior." Raven answered. "Anyway, it sounded like he was _really_ in love with her, so at first it was like she was Avelona, but then at the end she said something about wishing her sister would love her, which leads me to think she was Judora." She said.

"Maybe the two were sort of merged in that dream. I mean, you wouldn't think you'd be getting _Judora's_ memories, especially if Avelona wasn't around at the time. You'd just be getting some of her feelings I guess, even though _that_ sounds like a kind of stretch there." Zacroma considered. "What was the dream like? Did you see shapes? Can you remember what the voices sounded like?"

"No, well, I only heard voices in my ear. One that sounded as though it belonged to me, but again it's not my voice. And the other, well, I guess it _kind_ of sounds like Malchior or Rorek, but it's off somehow." Raven answered.

"That's probably a merging thing, you know, what it sounds like when they're one person." She offered.

"Probably, but what about the other voice? Did I just have a different voice in a past life, or am I seeing _Judora's_ memories. I mean, what if, what if she's sending them to me, to show me what I ruined or something. What if, Malorek really loved her at one time, but then fell in love with Avelona, and she just said that she warped his mind because she's too proud to admit that she lost her lover to Avelona? This combined with the fact that Avelona hated her and yet she wanted nothing more than to be her family, no wonder she turned over to the demons!" Raven sighed, banishing the notebook back to her room.

"That could be the case, and that would also explain why Judora's not taunting you even more about the whole thing. It could be a tender spot. I'm surprised she doesn't blow up at you for the whole thing." Zacroma mused.

"She's not completely sane, but I get the feeling she doesn't exactly care about that anymore." Raven said.

"Either that, or she's still holding on to the hope that you might finally consider her family. Remember what Rorek said about that? That might be why she's desperate to make you revert back to the darkness."

"…I remember, when Judora first saw me as I am now. She was shocked at first, like the revelation just washed over her, but she wasn't at _all_ displeased about it. She was ecstatic. I thought she was just insane at first but…well, I _know_ she's insane, but not completely." Raven sighed. "Ugh, this is making my head hurt."

"You need to get your mind off of this whole thing for a bit, we all do! But first, WARDROBE!" Zacroma exclaimed. Raven's eyes widened and soon she found herself being drug onward. She grimanced, but sighed and decided to just let Zacroma have her fun.

XP

A/N: Wow, lots and lots of reviews, I'M SO HAPPY NOW! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!

Fire and Ice equals Slush: Wow, never thought I'd have a reader complaining about my update speed, but I have to update fast to keep myself going, if that makes sense. It's like I need to keep myself focused, y'know, and getting reviews for chapters helps, so therefore if I update fast, I get more reviews quicker. Does that make sense? I hope so, I'm confusing myself, lol.

Kage no ni yoru: . _cooking oil_? Uuuuuh, I think I'll just happily go through life completely ignorant, thanks. Oh boy…

Pandora Kattalikis: Oh she's half human, don't worry, no more surprises in _that_ area so yeah. And you know what, it's extremely funny because the _little bit_ of Big O I ever watched featured the episode where you saw Angel's scars, and since that was like, I dunno, _years_ ago, I guess it stuck with me and bled onto the fic. Strange. Ah well, we'll be getting to those three in the next chapter I think.

Mei Mei: SWEET! That's so cool, I mean I knew about Phantom of the Opera, that's kind of obvious, I wonder if The Carpenter is also one they re-did. Hm, that'd be interesting. Oh yeah, and Malchior knowing about Poe, remember he was a collectors item, rare and valuable as his book was really old and yet didn't seem to age. He could have been owned by someone who knew Poe, or Poe himself. And yes, he can read while inside the book, remember? "I've been trapped in a book for over 1,000 years, not much to do _but_ read." So yeah. But thanks for pointing it out anyways.

Troubled-ego: Yeah, I know it was strange, I don't know _where_ it came from but I was thinking about what to do that would be completely random and have nothing to do with the story whatsoever, and then that happened. I hope I didn't leave you in your chair for too long though!

Jemerik: LOL! You actually _do_ that? Well, I guess updating every other day would make you suspect it could happen. And here's a tip for dodging the chests: There are a few piles of gold and jewels that are safe to burry yourself in, the way you find these is to stick your hand in one and if nothing grabs you its fine. If it does, just stick your other hand in there and slap it. If there's too much trouble down there you can always hide in the basement's broom closet…oh wait, I have yet to fix the black hole in it, okay never mind!

Alright, that's about it. Gotta go, my kitty is demanding my undivided attention now.

Ja


	15. Shopping

A/N: Do you have any idea how _time consuming_ it is transferring thurty-something documents to HTML format for a website? It's irritating.

XP

_Prophet!' said I, thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -  
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,  
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -  
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -  
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'  
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

"I, am not wearing this." Raven called over the door.

"Yes, you are. Now show us!" Zacroma ordered.

"No, I'm not, and I won't."

"Okay, what about it do you not like?" She asked.

Raven sighed and frowned at her reflection once again. "For one, I can see my belly button, in fact I can see everything from the lower edge of my bust on down. I am not going out in public with this on!" She told them.

"Alright, alright. Hm…" There was a ruffle of clothing as Zacroma was obviously going through the pile of stuff she'd picked out for Raven to try on. "Okay, first, put this on under the pants, no wait. Take off the entire outfit. Put this on, then put these pants on and…this top over it." She said, tossing a few clothes over the door.

Raven looked at them, but sighed and changed. The first article, was a plane black bathing suit, one piece and extremely simple. The next, were extremely large parachute pants that were a dark gray color. And the last was a shoulderless top with very loose long sleeves that just covered her bust area, this was an even lighter gray. She didn't mind it, she didn't mind it at all. Everything was covered, save for a little bit of her lower hips where the pants didn't reach and the bathing suit didn't cover. However, this _wasn't_ the style of clothing that really worked with her. "Um, this isn't going to work." She said.

"Let me see!" Zacroma insisted.

Raven opened the door, and both Zacroma and Starfire cocked their heads, looking at her with the same unsure expression on their faces. "Hmmmm, you're right. Okay, let's try this!" She said, gathering up the clothes Raven had shed, and then rummaging through what they still had.

It took several tries, and Raven had to put up with it all, frowning and glowering at some outfits, while raising an eyebrow at others. But, though she would never admit it, she was starting to have a little fun. What, was she spending too much time around Zacroma and Starfire? Was it seeping into her? But at the same time, was it such a bad thing to enjoy a few little senseless things that every girl does? She _was_ a girl, and, though she wasn't exactly interested in all that stuff, was it such a bad thing to do as Zacroma said and loosen up a bit? After all, it wasn't like she was a ticking time bomb anymore, she could do this sort of thing now without being afraid of loosing control over her emotions. She could try to find her wild side, and it wouldn't endanger the entire universe like it use to.

Yeah, right. She wasn't _about_ to go that far.

**And why not?**

Raven jumped and blinked at her reflection. It was blurring a bit, and suddenly she saw herself, two sets of eyes, paper white skin, and black hair, wearing a tight purple midrift that just barely showed off her belly button, and low tight black jeans that flaired out at the bottoms and sort of passed her feet to get on the ground. Raven looked down at herself. No, she was the same, her hair was still violet, and her skin still had some color in it. She looked back up, but found the demon still on the other side of her mirror, smirking, and somehow wearing the outfit to make it look a lot more...sensual than it was suppose to.

**There's nothing wrong with flouting your body a bit. You've spent your life avoiding socialization, but you don't have to anymore. You don't have to suppress yourself anymore.** She whispered.

It was like someone else was speaking in her mind, but at the same time, these were her own thoughts to herself. Thoughts that had originated in the very bowls of her mind, thoughts that came from her other half, the half she'd spent her entire life fighting against. But that half was pure now, she was pure now. _I don't know…_ She thought, looking down at the outfit she had on.

**Your scars have disappeared, you can show off your arms now. So why don't you put on that, that, and then let Zacroma put a little makeup on you. It's alright, there's nothing wrong with it is there? Rorek and Malchior will like it especially.** She said, the mirror Raven pointing to two articles of clothing that Raven had discarded. One was a halter-top that was an inch higher than the one she had on, and the other was a small jacket, much like the one Elsa had once tried to push on her, made with a spider-web design. The halter was black and it had a spider on the chest.

Raven put them on, and then looked at her mirror self, grimancing. She knew _she_ didn't look quite so…sluty, was the only way she could but it, as her mirror self did right now. But if it made her look _anything_ like that…

Then what? What's so bad about looking sexy? Come now, you're a demon, a high demon, and since when did any demoness care about modesty, hm?

_I'm only half demon._ Raven told herself frowning.

You don't even act like you're _that_ much. Even a purified half-demon should be able to have some fun.

_I don't know…_

Fine, we can find a medium. Those pants aren't so tight, put them on. But you like the spider design, admit it, it suites you. Her mirror said adamantly.

Raven suppressed a sigh and frowned. She put on the pants, and then, not looking at her reflection again, opened up the changing room. Zacroma was there, currently waiting for Starfire to come out as well, and when she looked up, her eyes became alight. "Ohmigosh Raven that is _perfect_! You _have_ to get it, okay? I am not letting you off on this one!" She said firmly.

"Alright, alright. I'll get it." Raven relented. The pants were a little higher up, and weren't quite so tight, but they did bell out at the bottoms a bit, and were made of a stretchy black material that looked a bit like velvet at first glance. But the flair didn't stay in a bell shape, it flowed around her ankles, and the fabric allowed for movement, and was also quite comfortable.

Just then Starfire stepped out, wearing a shockingly pink tankini top, rainbow arm warmers, and bright blue, two times too big for her parachute pants. To no one's surprise, this outfit looked _very_ good on Starfire. Of course practically any outfit looked good on Starfire so that wasn't saying much. "Oh friend Raven you look wonderful! It is gloomy, but, sadly, only gloomy clothes look good on you." Starfire said.

"Is that the outfit you're gonna pick Starfire?" Zacroma asked.

"Oh yes, I like it very much! It is quite different though, are you sure these baggy pants will not look funny?" The tameranian questioned.

"Oh no! All you need is…" Zacroma suddenly whipped out a blue hat with a smily-face on it, which she put on Starfire backwards. "Perfect! You're adorable! Alright, my turn!"

It took a few tries, but finally Zacroma decided on a black miniskirt, with a black sleeveless midriff that had blue fire across the chest, which matched the ice-blue color she'd chosen for her hair earlier, and the royal blue she'd changed her eyes to, whose color had an uncanny resemblance to Raven's. She also got a new pair of black, lace-up boots, and fingerless biker gloves to match.

After that, Raven was able to convince them that they had, indeed, bought enough stuff and could go home, _now_. It was 4:00, and they were planning to be at the party by 10:00, because, according to Zacroma, that's when the _real_ partying started. So Raven had plenty of time to get a few things she needed done, but only if they went home.

First on her list, was to find Michael, Daniel, and Shade. She didn't know what she was going to do when she found them, but it was essential to do _something_.

Next, she needed to check on the kethnic water to make sure it was coming along well enough. That was about it for the day. Zacroma had made it quite clear that this was going to be a relaxing time, and since most bad guys were now realizing there were a few new and very powerful additions to the Titans (and were either sucking their thumbs and rocking back and forth crying for their mommies, or trying to figure out some new mode of attack that would somehow keep them from being dragon chow), this was indeed possible, as they had been having very few alerts lately. Therefore, musing over the dream any more was a no-can-do until tomorrow.

"Hey guys, I need to take care of some business. Tell Robin when he comes back from work." Raven called into the living room.

"Alright!" Called Beast Boy. "NOOOOOO! YOU BEAT US AGAIN! HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS!" He cried, pointing an accusing finger at Rorek.

"Who knew a 1,000 year old dragon could be so darn good at video games?" Zacroma wined.

Raven snickered and left the scene for the door. "No you can't come with me." She told Malchior, before he could even say a word. "I'm just going to take care of those three guys that were involved with the whole Judora thing last time." She explained. "Which is something I'd rather do on my own."

Malchior heaved a sigh, "Alright, now you're starting to push _me_ aside! I haven't gotten as much time with you lately as _he_ has, and I'm not gonna stand for it." He told her flatly.

"That isn't my fault." She said, poking him in the nose. "You think it's _easy_ trying to juggle two relationships at once? I can't do it. It's either one or the other, and for a good while it was you. But now it's gonna be Rorek for a bit. Okay?"

Malchior gave her the most pouty-pathetic look he could, which was _extremely_ undignified and quite childish. "Couldn't you at least try to make time for me too?" he wined.

Raven sweatdropped, "Acting like a neglected puppy has to be an all-time low, even for you." She said

"Well, if it works…" He trailed hopefully.

Raven sighed and gave in, "Fine, you can come with me, but, just, behave, okay?" She asked pleadingly.

"As you wish, my love." He said, sweeping down romantically to kiss the jewel on the back of her hand. Again, Raven sweatdropped.

XD

Finding the three was, shockingly, much easier than Raven had expected somehow. First, she knew where they lived. It wasn't in the nicest part of town to be sure, and the apartment complex was pretty run-down, but still with 6 stories. It would be hard to ask the clerk, if there was one, where the three lived when she didn't know their last names…check that. She _did_ know Shade's last name, but as he never even knew his first name, he was probably signed under another made up last name as well. So that didn't help her at all.

So she decided to just land on the roof, and then walk through the halls to see if she could sense their presence in any of the doors. However, it seemed that wouldn't be necessary.

"Hey, aren't those the guys?" Asked Malchior, who was looking over the edge of the building into one of the alleyways.

Raven came over to the edge to look down. "Um, yeah, they are." She answered, blinking to make sure she was seeing the scene right.

All three of them were standing, side to side, with their backs to a wall, and about 5 to 6 other gangsters, each with some knife or other sharp object, advancing on them. Now that Raven was paying attention, their shouts could be heard quite easily. "What, so now you're too good for us! Is that it Burn! Gotten all high and mighty?" Bellowed a particularly large man.

"That's not it, Deck! We've been trying to tell you!" Daniel exclaimed.

"This whole gangster thing, it's gotta stop. There's no point in harassing innocent people just for kicks and a buck or two." Agreed Michael.

"So now you're gonna preach to us! What the happened! Didja get cold feet or someth'n? Did someone tie you up to a pew and make you listen to some church seminar? Where's the old Trio, huh? The one who didn't mind hav'n a little fun, eh?" 'Deck' yelled.

"They're gone." Shade spat. "We're not gonna do that anymore."

"I suppose I should be happy for them or something, but this entire thing is making me sick. Are they even gonna defend themselves!" Malchior huffed.

The three looked defiant and steadfast, but also looked as though they were prepared to take the beating their 'friends' were about to administer to them as well. Which was not at all necessary. "Your right, I'd better stop this, or at least give them a proper definition of 'innocent'." Raven agreed, jumping over the edge.

She let herself glide down to a spot behind the gangsters, where the three, of course, saw her. She cleared her throat loudly, gaining the attention of one, then two, then all of the males (and female) present. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if all of you could kindly clear off so I can have a word with your, ah, 'friends'?" She asked them.

To no one's shock, the entire alley was soon echoing with the sound of laughter. Raven waited patiently for it to die down, but then she had to start waiting for the collective snide and rude remarks to die as well. Then someone said, "Hey man, you probably need to control your woman better or she's gonna get into some serious ."

Raven blinked, and looked to find Malchior had followed her. Of course. He raised his eyebrows at them and said, "What, you think _I_ control_ her_? Heck no! This is a matriarchy, it's the other way around." He told them, without the slightest ounce of shame.

Raven heaved a deep and heavy sigh, "Why me?" She moaned, as everyone stared at him, wondering if he was serious or not.

"Uh, Deck, trust me, you do _not_ want to mess with her. That's Raven, of the Teen Titans? She'll whoop your # faster than you can blink." Piped Daniel.

_That_ got everyone's attention. The next moment that alley was _empty_, it was almost scary how fast they all cleared out.

"I'm surprised they didn't recognize you from the start, but I guess not everyone's seen your new look." Malchior mused.

"I was hoping to avoid all that, oh well." She sighed, striding over to the three. "When I said 'innocent' you do realize that this does _not_ include those who were trying to attack you, right?" She asked them.

The three looked at each other. "I though, anyone who's got pure human blood, no matter how much bad stuff they've done, was relatively innocent." Said Michael.

"Compared to the Blood Clan, they are. But what I meant by 'innocent' is someone who doesn't wish harm on another. What you can't do, is just kill someone for kicks. If these guys try to hurt you, you fight back, alright? If you see someone in trouble, you jump in and save them. That's what being a 'hero' is all about. And I pretty much didn't give you any other choice when I granted you that power, did I?" She explained. "Which brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about,"

"You're not gonna take it away are you?" Shade asked suddenly.

Raven blinked, "No, not exactly. I was going to ask you, well, I could erase all of this, I could make you, well, normal again if you wanted. Like what I did with Vincent, that boy. I could take away your memories and give you back your lives as they were. Though, hopefully, changed a little for the better. I am very pleased with the way you stood up to you friends, I imagine something happened." Their dark looks gave her the answer she needed. "But the thing is, I could take it away, you wouldn't have to have this burden if you don't want it. That's what I wanted to ask you."

"No." Said Daniel, looking firm. "No way. I've been a thief, a con-artist, a hit-man, and a gangster. I've even robbed a few people, raped a few girls. There's a lot of stuff I've done that I'm not proud of, and after what I saw the other night," He shuddered, "I realized that that, that was what I had become. Not so much for the rituals and the magic, but on the inside I was just as bad. I don't want to be like that anymore, I want to pay my dues to society, and this is how. I am completely aware that it isn't fun in games, that it isn't as cool as it seems on the outside, but hey, you know what? Whatever I have to deal with, I deserve it. The more good I do, the better." He said.

Raven nodded, and turned to the other two.

"I've hurt too many people, done so much crap, I'm with Daniel. If I can clean up my act and help ten times as many people as I hurt, _then_ I might be able to become the person my Ma always wanted me to be." Said Michael.

"I was orphaned as a baby, thrown out on the streets. I wasn't wanted, and it was a trailer trash woman who decided to take care of me. She kept telling me she regretted doing it, and when she died I didn't care, I was the one who killed her. I thought this gave me the right to take it all out on others. But I was wrong, I had no right to do the stuff I did. I want to pay my time with this. I've seen what real evil is, and I don't want any part of it." Shade finished.

"I'm still gonna be sick." Malchior muttered

"Shut up." Raven snapped, so venomously that Malchior shrunk away, almost timidly. She turned to the three and gave them a smile, "Well, I guess that's that then. The next thing is, honestly, we don't have any more room in the T-Tower for _three_ more Titans. We barely managed to get rooms for Malchior, Rorek, and Zacroma, and it's kinda crowded really. Besides, we only handle the villains that the police can't. I imagine you three would like to stick with the stuff your use to for now." She said.

"Oh, we never _dreamed_ of becoming Teen Titans, and you're right, for now we would like to stick with cleaning up this area. Just one thing," Daniel said.

"What?"

"I don't guess you could, I dunno, sorta, _introduce_ us properly to Zacroma?" Daniel asked, grinning hopefully.

Raven sweatdropped, "Uh…actually,"

"Beast Boy likes her." Malchior finished. Even Raven's eyes whipped around to stare at him. "Oh come on! You're suppose to be an empath, surely you've noticed!" He exclaimed.

"Er, well, I haven't been paying that much attention but…oh my gosh, you're _right_." Raven said, smacking her self for being so dense.

"So, unless you want some form of huge beast running after you, I suggest you just stick with _talking_." Malchior said.

Raven sighed, "Okay, _maybe_. It just depends on what happens and if we hook up again, which we probably will."

"Yeah! I mean, if you guys need any help at all," Michael said.

"Their powers _would_ work very well with your magic." Malchior mused. "Do it right, and they could become like three extremely advanced forms of familiars. Which, I don't think I need to tell you, would boost your power tremendously, not to mention _theirs_." He said.

"Alright, here." Raven said, pulling out her communicator from her belt. "Take this, I can always get Cyborg to make me another one. If I need you, I'll call you. You should be able to pick up where I am using it too." She told them.

"Will do, Chief!" Said Daniel.

"Uh, don't call me chief, please?"

XD

"How's it coming?" Asked Rorek, peering over the edge of Raven's cauldron.

"Slowly, but surely. It'll be ready next week, when there's a full moon. But something tells me we're just not gonna need it anymore." Raven answered with a sigh.

"As powerful as you have become, I imagine there would be no problem dealing with Slade. Thanks to you, Robin and Starfire have gained weapons that make them much more formidable." He commented.

"Our old enemies are looking like a group of disobedient toddlers compared to Judora and the Church of Blood. I wonder what's gonna happen when we no longer have to worry about _them_." She said.

"Well, speaking from personal experience, once the old evil has been defeated by the good, or if the old good is defeated by the evil, a whole is created, a gap, allowing a stronger, more dangerous evil, or good, to fill it and rise against the current power. Then again, just because the good are the ones with supernatural prowess, that doesn't mean there isn't enough evil in the world already to fill the gap." Rorek commented.

"You've been reading some of my novels, haven't you?" Raven asked him.

"Yes. But these articles of reading you call 'newspapers' that tell of things happening help this opinion as well." Rorek said.

"Don't believe everything you hear on the media, newspapers, magazines, and Television will all give you the bad side of the story because that's what people want to hear." Raven told him. "The worse it is, the more it sparks an interest."

"_Why_? Why would anyone want to hear about some molesting a child, or some group of thugs showing up at a schooling house with guns and shooting everyone?" Rorek demanded.

"I don't know, it isn't logical at all. You'd think people would want to avoid bad stuff, but they don't. It's like they need to feel some sort of pain so that they can be sure of their existence. Kind of stupid, but at the same time, it makes sense." She mused.

"Not to me, I'm still confused. And I've been trying to understand humans for over a thousand years." Rorek sighed.

"Humans can barely understand themselves, so it's not surprising. By the way, what are your thoughts on this whole dance club thing tonight?" She asked.

Rorek shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. I do know it would be a good idea to wear that normal outfit for it, but I get the feeling I'll need to somehow manage a scarf to go along with it if I'm going to breath, _at all_."

"You know, I think I know a small hex that stifles select senses for a time. I think, with a little reviewing, I might be able to fix that problem for you. Just for tonight though." She told him.

"Would you? I'd appreciate it very much!" he told her.

"Sure. I'll use it on Malchior too, assuming he's not going in full armor, which he better not be." Raven said. She then stretched and yawned, "Well, I think that's all I wanted to get done. I think I'll go back to my room and read for a bit." She said, turning to go back into the tower.

"I'll come with you." Rorek said, and Raven suddenly found his arms slip around her waist.

Raven blinked, surprised by this sudden boldness from Rorek, which wasn't entirely unwanted. He gave her a peck on the cheek from behind, which turned into a kiss when she craned her neck over to meet him. That familiar ache was slowly creeping up on her, sending chills up and down her spine. His tongue grazed her lips playfully, and then, when she let it, began to tickle the inside of her mouth, gradually escalating from slightly shy, to deep and loving. She slipped around in his arms and brought her own up around his neck so that she could press in more effectively. His hands were moving up and down her waist and he seemed to melt into her. Content with what he was getting now, and not feeling the need to press any farther for more.

The kiss lasted for a few minutes, but when it stopped they broke off gently, and Raven rested her head on Rorek's chest, almost wishing the armor wasn't there so she could hear his heartbeat. Rorek held her close, but not so tight. He stroked her hair gently and kissed the top of her head. "How are your scars?" He whispered softly.

"They've disappeared. Transforming into a demon must have made them fade even faster." She answered.

"I'm glad." He said, resting his chin on her head. "Shall we go to your room?" he asked, even more quietly.

"Actually, I'd like to be alone for a bit if that's okay." She answered.

"Of course." He told her, giving her head one last kiss before releasing her. "I think I'll go play that racing game with Beast Boy again." He mused, pulling his scarf back over his face.

Raven snickered, "You do that. But I have a question, how _are_ you beating everyone so easily?" She asked as they walked to the door.

"Easily? Oh it's not at all easy. It's just a matter of reflexes and control, and ever since I got use to the whole 'video game' concept, where you press buttons to make a character on the screen perform an action, I've begun developing strategies the moment I see how a game is played. It's simple, but not easy, and I guess I'm just flat better at it than the others because no one has beaten me yet." He answered, his eyes grinning at her.

"Makes sense. Well, have fun I guess." She said, parting with him at the bottom of the steps so she could head to her room, and he to the living room.

Raven stood at her door, and sighed. She still had a mess to clean up, stuff to replace and all that. And the hangman tapestry was _not_ cheap either. She grimanced, and walked in her room.

Only to find 1: All her books were back in their right places. 2: The tapestry was as good as new. 3: the box containing the mask also looked as though nothing had happened. 4: Her bedcovers also looked as though nothing had happened, not to mention they were _made_. And 5: Malchior was sitting on her bed, looking exceedingly proud of himself.

Raven blinked and stared as her door closed behind her, "Did you—?"

"No, I didn't. There was a group of small wood fairies that came in and cleaned everything up, I just sat back and watched." He answered. His voice wasn't sarcastic, on the contrary, it sounded as though he were trying to cover something up.

Raven bit her bottom lip, trying to keep down the smile and laughs. "Thank you Malchior." She said, allowing her self an _appreciative_ smile.

"I told you, I didn't do anything! Honest!" He defended wildly.

Raven walked over and gave him a hug, "Alright, thanks for what you didn't do." She said. She tried to pull back, but unfortunately it seemed that bit of physical contact hadn't been the best of ideas. Also, it appeared he'd been planning this from the start.

The next moment Raven found herself being pinned down on her bed, and the dark dragon kissing her almost desperately. Raven's eyes widened and she blinked, the new force he was currently administering was almost bruising. Her eyes watered as the power of his pent up emotions hit her like a tone of bricks, and she suddenly realized that he wouldn't, couldn't, stop until it had all been released.

Though it seemed they had somehow merged even more after the last incident with Judora, Malchior and Rorek were still, currently, two different people. While Rorek could stand back for a while, safe in the knowledge that Raven loved him, and was content with this, Malchior couldn't. He needed more than that, he was the part of Malorek that held the bulk of their lust and wanting.

Having two boyfriends _sucks_.

So Raven wrapped her arms around him, and began kissing him back, running her fingers through his hair to caress the back of his head. This seemed to have a desired effect as he was beginning to relax his relentless assault and groan with pleasure, shivering at her touch. He nearly ripped her costume, tearing off the cloak and then pulling her neck down so he could nip at her neck. She let him, and slipped her hands beneath his spandex so she could run her hands over his shoulders and upper spine. He gasped and seemed to freeze in the position he was in, afraid that if he moved she might stop.

He relaxed, letting her sleeve go and resting his head on her chest, practically melting with her touch. She rose one hand up to caress his head, while the other hand continued to rub his back gently. She did feel a little guilty. It was a mean way to think of it, but currently Malchior was acting like a neglected pet, yearning for attention so much he'd bite his master's hand just to be noticed. Another reminder that neither he, nor Rorek, were human. A human male, if his girlfriend was neglecting him for some reason, would usually seek another female to fill the gap for the time, which ultimately lead to an unhappy ending. Was it even possible for a human man be so completely devoted to one woman day and night without a single note of attraction to another the entire time? In most cases, no.

Breathing deeply, Malchior finally raised himself up, and gave her a small kiss on the lips. "Thank you. Sorry I was so forceful, I just,"

"It's okay, I understand now." She answered, sitting up and rubbing her shoulder, just now noticing that it had somehow been bruised. Oh well, it would heal in a few hours. "But you have to understand as well, I can't just give you what you want every single time and be fair to Rorek as well. I understand that you've been exercising a good deal of self control lately, and I'm grateful, but this is just as difficult for me as it is for you, maybe more so." She told him.

"I know, I know," He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands in frustration. "But it's _hard_, Raven, it really is."

Raven put her hands on his face and then brought it down so she could kiss him. "It'll get easier, right? You've got more of Rorek in you now, I mean, since he has more of you. The more that happens, the better it'll get. At least I hope so."

"I do too." He agreed.

"But right now, is a little alone time so much to ask?"

"We are alone." He answered, giving her a sly grin.

"Alone as in me, myself, and I." She told him frowning.

He chuckled, "Alright, alright, I'll leave." He said, giving her one last kiss before slipping off her bed.

XP

A/N: Weeeee! Another lovely batch of reviews from the last chapter, keep it coming you guys! And some more kissy scenes for those of you who live for them, heheh.

Storm Front: You reviewed right after I updated the next chapter so I couldn't add a response! But anyways, I am over here _laughing_ because that is _exactly_ where I got the name! Only, it's "_Majora's_ Mask", and that's a Zelda game which is the best gaming series _ever_! But originally I used that name for my other fic, Master of Masks, Warrior Soul, which is about Majora before _she_ became a mask, and Fierce Deity as well. Judora was Majora's evil demon mother who only bore her to use as a weapon against the heavens and so she could take over and yada yada yada. She was the main bad guy in that too, though Majora doesn't exactly end up as being a 'good guy' either, though being _completely_ insane it's hard to tell. So yeah, that is where Judora's name originated, I'm just using it because I thought it was a very evil sounding name, also, this Judora's character was kinda taken from the other's. But hey, that's my story too and Judora's _my_ character so I can use her wherever I want!

Miyu399: See above notes to Storm Front for the answer to your first question. As for the second question, well, you'll just have to see :D

LivingImpared: I'm sorry! I didn't mean to forget you, but when I don't have something to say to a review, I don't have anything to write! I mean, just going 'thanks' and variations of that just takes up space and there's really no point to it. I haven't forgotten you, I just didn't have anything to say! But I do now, and yes it is coming alone nicely. See, I've got a little secret that helps me along, but I can't tell you what it is until I've finished the story! So Nya!

Pandora Kattalikis: A Trilogy? Hm, I really haven't decided yet. We'll have to see. Though right now I keep getting ideas for other stories (And the last dream I had did _not_ help, THAT'S SOME GOOD STORY MATIRIAL THERE! WAAAAAA!) and it's been hard to keep my focus for this long, but I've been managing it with the help of my faithful reviewers! Keep it up yall!

Lou: Lol, looks like someone doesn't read the bold print at the top of the first A/Ns that says 'THIS STORY IS A SEQUAL'. But that's okay, tis a mistake anyone could make I suppose. Also (Bows) thank you, thank you, you're too kind! No really, it's nice to have a few detailed praises to keep my focus. Hope to see your review again soon!

Ravenrocs4eva: No I don't know how many chapters this is going to have, but I do know it will have more than Spellbinder, however it probably won't go above 30 or so, though that just depends on how I write out the stuff I'm planning in my head. (Thinks a bit), okay yeah, it _could_ go above 30, but I doubt it.

I'm InTeReStInG: You're name is a pain in the butt to write, lol! Anyways, she only mistook them because it was dark, _and_ she was sort of grabbed from behind too. Completely understandable ne?

Troubled-ego: It was most likely Azar, remember? Yeah, that point's a little vague, but it doesn't really matter so I didn't go into much detail. And yes, I like to make my reader's heads spin, it's fun to watch, lol! Not that you guys mind too much, just so long as I update. It took me a while to come up with a good name for them, so I decided on a duel name that could just be shortened to 'Malorek' (Or 'Mal' heheh), a good idea in my opinion, because the other option was something like Malchyorek, and that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue very well does it?

Well that's about it and WHY IS THE AIR CONDITIONER ON? IT'S FRIGG'N COLD IN HERE, MY FINGERS ARE STIFF! Ahem, that's better. So, now I'm off to have breakfast, lol! Spring Break rules.


	16. Cybiria

A/N: DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION IS THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD! Also, special Raven/Malchior fanart to whoever can guess where 'Cybiria' came from! (But you have to give me your _working_ e-mail address in order for me to send it to you)

XP

_Prophet!' said I, thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!  
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -  
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,  
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -  
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'  
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

"But, but we've still got an hour before we have to leave!" Raven argued as both Zacroma and Starfire dragged her to Zacroma's room, both grinning mischievously.

"Right, just enough time for us to get ready, and to get you ready at the same time!" Zacroma said.

If there was one room in the entire T-Tower that was as opposite from Raven's as it is possible, it would have been Zacroma's. Colors upon colors covered everything. Shelves were painted, the desk looked like it had been tie-dyed somehow, the bedcovers were the same way, there were stuffed animals almost falling out of a net that had been pinned up on the wall. There were bean bag chairs, a TV, posters of Zacroma's favorite bands, and she even had a work table where many pieces of metallic art were strewn, some looked finished, others definitely weren't. The huge dragon she was working on currently had one wing, no head, half a tail, and had a big chunk of its stomach missing.

But the thing was, every single color, even though there was more than one shade of it, seemed to go together rather smoothly. It wasn't at all painful to look at, rather artistic really. Raven couldn't help but somehow liking it, though hell'd freeze over before she made her own room look anything like it.

"Okay, I've got your outfit right here, but we'll need some jewelry to go with it, of which I have plenty! I think you'll like these earrings I made for you." Zacroma said, holding up a pair of small metal dragons on hooks, one with a small red stone for its eye, and the other with a blue.

Raven sweatdropped, "I thought I had a spider theme going on." She commented.

"That doesn't mean you need the same style of earrings." Zacroma answered grinning. "Or necklace, or bracelets, or ponytail,"

"_Ponytail_!" Raven exclaimed.

"But of course, you didn't think we weren't going to play with your hair a bit did you?" Zacroma asked, she and Starfire looming over Raven with broad grins on their faces.

"Oh yes! We have also bought proper colors to smear all over your skin!" Starfire exclaimed.

_I already regret this._ Raven thought.

By the time they were done with her, Raven was almost terrified to look in Zacroma's full-length mirror. No only did she have on that rather, er, _questionable_ outfit her dark self had bullied her into (she'd rather not admit to putting it on willingly), but her back hair had been pulled up into a, you guessed it, ponytail, and had been tied in a bow with a black string. Then she'd been given the dragon earrings, a choker with a dagger, held by a dragon of course, to put around her neck, and a couple of normal silver loops for bracelets on each wrist. They'd also put a chain belt around her waist, and had put her into those black boots Starfire had gotten her several months ago which use to be pink. After that, _The Makeup_. She did _not_ want to look. She knew they'd chosen a dark red for her lips and a blue for her eyelids, but she didn't want to see if the colors worked well with her skin or not. Knowing Zacroma, it probably did.

However, she had no choice in the matter, as the two drug her over to the mirror, looking _very_ proud of themselves. Raven grimaced at her reflection, but decided it wasn't as bad as she had thought. It didn't _look_ like she had too much makeup on, so that was good. The outfit…well, she dug the ditch, she might as well stay in it. And there wasn't so much jewelry she looked gaudy in it. However, the dagger around her neck _had_ to go.

"Okay, I just want to make one change." Raven said, removing the dagger. "And that's it, alright?"

"Oh okay. At least you're not running for the sink to wash your face." Zacroma sighed. _She_ had adorned herself in some, other stuff. One was a spike choker, a silver necklace with a cross on it, spiked bracelets, and several silver chain belts. She'd put on black eye-liner and ice blue lipstick as well as a pair of dragon earrings she'd made for herself (both with red eyes, probably to be normal). Starfire had put on some green eye shadow and pink lipstick, a pair of blue stubs in her ears and a couple of fun chains about her pants, and one single chain about her neck.

They looked really good, both of them. Raven had the feeling that Beast Boy and Robin were gonna have a problem with guys trying to move in on their objects of affection.

"Alright, I think we're ready! Let's get down to the par-tay!" Zacroma said, fastening her blue jewel on her hand where it always was. "Now, let's go show ourselves off to the guys!"

"Exactly the part I've been dreading." Raven groaned, as her two friends drug her out of the room.

XD

"Oh _boyyyyyys_! We're ready to go!" Zacroma called.

"About time you—whoa." Beast Boy stopped abruptly, his eyes as wide as amusement park lollypops. The rest of the guys turned to look, and had similar reactions.

"I'm gonna die." Raven muttered to herself as she instantly became flanked at both sides by (who else?) Malchior and Rorek.

The guys had also made an attempt to alter their appearance for this special occasion. Rorek, wearing what he had on their date, Malchior with a pair of tight dark blue jeans and a _very_ tight black shirt with "Bad Boy" very accurately written across the chest. Beast Boy had slipped on a plane green T-shirt and really big baggy jeans, also putting on a hat which, even Raven had to admit, made him look really cute. Robin and Cyborg were the only ones who hadn't bothered, but, let's face it, they didn't exactly _need_ to.

"You all are look'n _hot_ yo!" Cyborg told them. He was pretty much the only one who hadn't relocated himself beside one of the girls, Robin (currently getting his cheek smooched) instantly to Starfire, and Beast Boy to Zacroma.

As for Rorek and Malchior, well, it seemed Raven's new outfit had such an…_unhealthy_ effect, that they were completely ignoring the fact that the other had his hand around her waist/shoulders, telling her how sexy/beautiful she looked.

"Alright, everyone! Lets get it on!" Zacroma said, punching the air with enthusiasm.

"Meaning males present will need to tear their eyes away from the females in order to see where they're going." Raven put in, causing Zacroma and Cyborg to double up in fits of helpless laughter. Even Malchior was looking a little embarrassed now.

XD

"Alright, that should do it. Is it working yet?" Raven asked as the last bits of the hex fell into Malchior's nostrils.

For a minute, he looked as though he was about to sneeze, and then he looked like he didn't and was getting that pain. But after that, he wriggled his nose, "It feels like you completely blocked my sense of smell." He said frowning. He lowered his head so that his face was close to her neck and sniffed deeply, "I can't even smell you properly from this distance. I do hope you know the counter to it." He said, looking irritated.

"Trust me, you'll probably need that." Rorek assured him, though he looked uncomfortable with the whole idea as well.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna be happy about it." Malchior said, rubbing his nose almost as though it itched a good deal.

"Are we ready yet?" Beast Boy wined, looking over at the laser sign, displaying the name "Cyberia" in three different colors of light wires.

"Yes, let's go." Raven answered with a nod.

Inside the music nearly blared, the base pulsing rapidly to the techno beat. It was dark, only illuminated by the moving beams of colored light and the few sections where there were steady bulbs for those either eating or just chilling at the bar. Some people were dancing, even the floor lighting up when certain squares were stepped on. Here and there, there was a space where another dancer could join, and some dancers were given a wide breath to bust their more advanced moves.

The people who 'guarded' the door took one look at them, and stepped aside. Probably assessing the girls' wardrobes and nothing else.

"You call that 'dancing'!" Malchior yelled to Zacroma.

"That would be modern dancing Mal, watch and learn!" She answered. Zacroma found herself a good space, and then started to move her body. Her feet found the floor in different spots, her hands were moving in ways that went with the music, and her hip was starting to shake a bit. Then she began to _really_ get into it, spinning, kicking, cartwheeling, and finally break dancing.

It wasn't long before she was in the center of the dance floor, and sometime during this Starfire had joined her and they began to do a routine that, somehow, they seemingly practiced. No one else was dancing, they were all cheering and watching the two girls. "Come on Raven!" Zacroma yelled, gesturing her to join them.

"Over my dead body!" Raven yelled back, but was pushed into the circle by the crowd anyway. "I'm not dancing!" Raven yelled.

"You must! It is a _dance club_!" Starfire exclaimed.

"I can't dance!" Raven told them, trying to get back into the crowd.

"You've never even tried, just start moving to the beat! Let yourself get swept into the music!" Zacroma yelled, pulling her back as the crowd began to get back into the grove themselves. "See? Not everyone's watching anymore! Just move your feet around, alright?"

Raven let out a sigh that couldn't be heard, glowered, but gave in. She looked down at her feet and started stepping from side to side, using the beat as a guide telling her when to pick up one foot, put it down, then pick up the next. She followed Zacroma's basic steps, right-step, front-step, right-step, left-step, back-step, back-step, spin, front-step, jump. Hey, this was kind of fun, provided she didn't loose her footing.

Soon Raven was letting her body sway a bit, moving with her legs as they began to take on a life of their own. Back, left, back, front, right, right, left, spin.

It wasn't long before Raven was dancing without following Zacroma's lead, she was getting the hang of it herself, making up her own combinations using what she'd shown her. And then she found herself being joined by about three guys, all of which were grinning broadly at her. Ugh. Raven decided to ignore them and focus on her steps instead, which were become faster the more comfortable and sure she became. She wasn't about to escalate to Zacroma's wild and crazy moves, her hips were only moving an inch if even that much, but her feet seemed to be making up their own swift pattern, and her arms were giving a little into the motion of the music.

However, when four more guys were crowding around her, making it vary obvious that they were, indeed, giving her all their attention, and neither Rorek nor Malchior anywhere in sight, it was time to head for the bar table and get something to drink. Unfortunately, a couple of them didn't get the hint, and followed her as she maneuvered over to the said destination.

"Hey babe, can I buy you a drink?" Asked one, leaning over next to her when she sat down on a stool.

"Back off, wimpy! I think the lady would prefer a _real_ man." Another said, pushing him out of the way.

"You wanna ditch these losers, they're no good for you." Said a guy with a soft tone of voice, coming over on her other side. "I got a place not too far from you, you wanna—"

"I'd like some water please." Raven told the bartender.

"What kind of water?" he asked with a bit of a smirk.

"The kind whose molecular components are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen." She answered, beginning to bristle. The bartender snickered humorously, and went to pour her some _regular_ water.

"I'll pay for it." Said the second guy, slapping down a ten-dollar bill.

Raven rolled her eyes, "No, _I'll_ pay for it. You can leave." She said, still not even bothering to look at them.

"You heard the lady." Snapped the one on her left side.

"That means you too, wise-guy." She told him, turning her head to glare at him. He frowned.

"You've got a lot of ner—"

"Actually, _you've_ got a lot of nerve, assuming that just because you've got a nicely groomed head of hair and a few hundred dollar bills in your pocket you can get any woman you please." Snarled a new voice, coming from the stool next to Raven. The guys all looked over, and so did Raven. There sat a woman, clearly just above 20, leaning on the counter with a rather intimidating air about her. She had dark skin, long black hair, and deep green eyes. She was very beautiful, with soft curves to her face, and very _generous_ curves to her body. She dressed in black, wearing the exact same webbed over-shirt that Raven had on, a halter top which reached down just below her bust line featuring a red spider, and pants that were black, but with webbed designs all over them. All of her jewelry had the same spider theme, the only color she had other than black and white was red. Spider earrings with red markings on their abdomens, a choker that featured a spider on it, and even a belt whose links consisted of spiders. But what completed the outfit so perfectly, was the live tarantula sitting docile and content on her shoulder.

"A-Arachna! We were just—" Tried one of them, but she shot them a glare that made them stop abruptly.

"Save it for someone who cares and get out of my sight." She hissed. Almost immediately they vanished.

"Thanks." Raven said as the bartender, snickering, set down Raven's glass of water.

"No problem." 'Arachna' said, her deep voice considerably less hostile, but still seeming to command a lot of power. "Girls have to look out for each other, especially in this day and age." She said, taking a sip of what looked to be an extremely strong drink. "Nice outfit, by the way," She said with a smirk, "I like how you seemed to fit the dragon earrings in with the spider theme." She commented.

"Actually, this wasn't me, it was my friend's. This is just the outfit I chose over all the other's she forced me into." Raven explained.

Arachna raised her hand to her tarantula and it obediently crawled onto it. "You have good taste, but you're not afraid of spiders, are you?" She asked, moving her pet over so close to Raven it could have crawled onto her laid down arm.

"Not really." Raven said, actually reaching over with her other hand and stroking its hairs with one finger. Seemingly to see this as an invitation, the spider did, indeed, pass from Arachna's hand to Raven's arm, and then crawl on up her shoulder.

Arachna looked _extremely_ pleased, "I don't think I've met a girl who didn't flinch at the sight of Zerr, much less allow her to crawl up on their shoulders." She said, sounding very impressed.

Raven shrugged just enough to indicate the gesture, seeing as Zerr was still on her shoulder, and said, "I guess I should be scared, logically, but I'm not."

"A spider can be a girl's best friend." Arachna said, leaning in towards Raven, "Not many guys are willing to harass a girl who's got a spider on her shoulder, I can testify to that. But, strangely enough, you can make a few friends as well, even though said friends would rather it be as far away from them as possible. Spiders have a bad reputation, and that makes them objects of fear. But once you can get past that fear yourself, you can use it to your advantage. If a spider can bite, even if it has no poison, people shy away, afraid that it will."

"That's right, tarantulas don't have any poison." Raven considered. She looked up and, for the first time, locked eyes with Arachna.

It was almost like a jolt had hit the two at the same time, Raven felt it, and she could feel _Arachna_ feel it as well. Both eyes widened, Arachna's expression became strangly closed for a minute, while Raven blinked, looking, and feeling, confused. "Do…do I…do I know you?" Raven asked, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"No." Arachna said, a little _too_ swiftly. "No," She repeated, more smoothly, "I, I would remember you if we've met before, I'm quite sure…" She said, but she was looking a bit confused as well. She leaned in closer, peering fixedly into Raven's eyes, as Raven stared into hers. Those eyes were so familiar, but where had she seen them? Not many people had green eyes in that color…

"There you are! I have been looking _everywhere_, you'd be shocked at how many people have purple hair, I had to apologize to a _man_ for taping on his shoulder, thinking it was you!" Raven turned, recognizing Malchior's voice at once.

"Where were you when I had three guys harassing me?" Raven demanded.

Malchior twitched, "What? You didn't happen to get the names and descriptions of these, 'men', did you?" He asked.

Raven opened her mouth, but Arachna beat her to it, "I did. First one had black hair combed back and looking pretty greasy, he was wearing a black suite and his name was Trent. The next was rather burly, had a mop of unruly brown hair, a white t-shirt and kakee pants, his name's Deric. Last was a rather skinny guy with blond hair and a few freckles, he was wearing a black T-shirt, red jeans, and a blue jean jacket, his name's Tim but everyone calls him Spark."

Malchior looked up and said, "Thank you very much." Before disappearing into the crowd.

"Malchior, get back here!" Raven yelled, but it was a little late. She banged her head on the table, "Great."

Arachna laughed, "Of course, it seems you don't need a spider. Jealous boyfriends are a plus, but only if you've got a firm control of the relationship." She said, taking another drink.

"Let's just say one of us wants to be dominant, but the other _is_." Raven responded.

"Good girl." She grinned. "Now you just need to put a leash on him and take him everywhere you go."

Raven leered at her, "_No_." She said flatly. "Besides, the sad thing is he'd _like_ it."

Arachna looked at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "I almost pity you now. Personally, I don't like men that much, but being lesbian never really worked for me. Women have become almost as bad as men nowadays. They're both foul in their own ways, the typical man disgusts me to no end, but some women have sunk far too low in evil pleasures. I've yet to decide which type of evil is worse." She said.

"There are exceptions." Raven pointed out, "For one, I know my friends are good people, all of them. And not every guy is a pile of filth, they just appear that way because they don't know how else to act."

"I just assume not deal with it anymore. I think I'll stay happily single for the rest of my life." Arachna said, taking another drink. "Relationships just aren't worth the drama, all you have to do is learn to resist and suppress your feminine hormones completely."

"But don't you feel empty sometimes?" Raven asked.

"Yes." She confessed, her brow furrowing, "But that has nothing to do with needing male companionship. Another vodka, Keith." She said, waving her empty glass to the barkeeper.

"So you drink it away?" Raven asked, rather disapprovingly.

"Heh, Arachna doesn't get drunk. This is her fifth one tonight." Keith said smirking. "She's a regular here, and when the drinking competitions break out she never looses."

"I have a very strong immunity system, it's near impossible for me to get so drunk I'm tipsy. So I drink for the taste and the pleasant cloud feeling I get." Arachna explained.

"Wow, that's impressive. So what do you do for a living?" Raven asked.

Arachna grinned broadly, "I'm a highly paid bouncer for an extremely high dollar night club down past Shwitzer." She answered. "In other words, I handle the fights that break out, keep stuff from getting broken, and get people to leave without having to throw them out. Not even policemen can keep the calm as well as I can."

"I wonder why." Raven murmured.

"I admit it isn't the most, tasteful job sometimes, but it supports me enough so that I can pursue the stuff I like to do. Such as hang out at dance clubs talking to interesting young girls." She said, grinning at Raven. "Too bad you're taken, and I'm guessing your straight as well, huh?" She asked.

"Yes, very." Raven answered abruptly.

"Fine with me, I don't really care. So, what's your name? My name's Shenira, but everyone calls me Arachna." She said.

"It's Raven." She answered.

"Raven, I like it. Would you like to hook up again sometime?" Shenira asked.

"Yes I would. Where do you live?"

"Not too far from here, by Valley Park, where Norse Road sort of loops around the duck pond and goes back into the city. There's a dirt road that comes off it, follow that for a bit and you'll find my house. I don't get many visiters, mainly because I let my spiders have the run of the place, but if you can sit there calmly while Zerr sits on your shoulder, I doubt that'll concern you." She said.

"Alright, I guess I could try to stop by, what time's good for you?" Raven asked.

"I work nights on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I'm usually home during daylight hours on those days, during night hours on the days in between, and I have every other weekend off." She explained.

"How does that work with your sleep schedule?" Raven questioned, eyes wide.

"I have no sleep schedule, I sleep when I'm able to and can function properly for three days without a night's rest. My body is very tough you see." She answered smirking, "Which helps when I can't scare troublemakers into submission and have to beat them down with my fists. Though I don't have to do that often, and when I do they're usually drunk and therefore easy pray."

Raven snickered, "Maybe you could help me get into shape, then. I'd love to make my body a little stronger." She said, draining her glass of water. She then looked over, to see Shenira had an odd grin on her face, "What?"

"You serious about that? Would you like to learn how to defend yourself as well? I could do it, I've done it before. But it'll be hard work, very hard, and you'll have to give me a good bit of your time each week. I think a few hours during the days I have night shifts would work best. That way you have some time to rest afterward." She answered, considering.

Raven blinked, and thought for a moment. It would be a good idea to strengthen her human body, especially if she learned to fight without relying on magic. That could come in handy. "Alright, how about," She thought for a moment, "From noon till 4:00?" She asked. That was a time when no one had to work, not on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays anyway. So if there was an emergency, likely she wouldn't be needed.

"Sounds good to me, Raven. Very well. As tomorrow is a Wednesday, we can start then." Shenira said with a wink.

Just then, Malchior appeared again, and sat down next to Raven, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "What did you do?" She demanded suspiciously.

"Made sure those three will never bother you again." He answered.

"That statement leaves far too many possibilities, what did you _do_?" She repeated.

"Heheh, alright, let's just say one of them is never going to walk again, another has lost the use of his left arm for at least a year, and the last will be, what's that phrase again? Ah, he will be singing soprano for a good while. And all of them will probably be sleeping with one eye open for the rest of their lives." He answered.

Shenira burst out laughing, "Oh, I'm starting to like him!" She exclaimed.

Malchior leaned over to look at her, "And, who are you again?" He asked.

"My name is Shenira, but everyone calls me Arachna." She answered. Raven suddenly realized that Zerr had passed from her shoulder, back to Shenira's then.

"I wonder why." He said, eyeing Zerr.

"Scared of her?" Shenira asked, petting Zerr with a finger.

"I could crush that little thing with my bear hands, why in the _world_ would I be scared of it?" He asked.

"Heh, exactly."

"Whatever, come on, Raven, let's dance together." Malchior said, his voice slightly sensual as he put his hand around her bear waist and gave her neck a small nip.

"I can only imagine the way _you'd_ like to 'dance together'. And stop that, we're in public!" Raven said, pushing him away from her neck.

"Alright, alright, I'll behave. But come on, I was just getting the hang of this." Malchior pushed.

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Have fun." Shenira said, waving as Raven was lead out of her seat back towards the dance floor.

"Alright." She called, yelling more loudly over the music.

XP

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, 'Oh look, another possible Titan!' and I know I'm bad for doing _another_ OC, but I've got big plot-filled plans for Shenira, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, yeah, so anyway.

Dark Ki: LOL! Okay that was good, that was _really_ good. I love it! And you should know me by now, more is still coming as I've not yet lost my driving force! Which are lots of lovely reviews of course.

Silverwinged-Raven: It's because Malchior's the sexy bad-boy while Rorek's the hot sweetheart. It's all a matter of preference. Also, while girl's will go wild and crazy over Malchior, initially Rorek is the best candidate for a long-term relationship. And yes, being a published author is my dream, but the thing is I haven't been able to _finish_ any of my original stories yet, though hopefully I might teach myself how after getting this one done, and I _will_ finish it if I have to watch Spellbound reruns again and again and re-read every single Malchior/Raven fanfiction posted on the C2 In the Darkness. I have promised this myself. Also, I still have a ways to go before I can get a good solid hole-free story out (so far there aren't too many here, but there are a few). Also, I'M UPDATING I'M UPDATING, DON'T HURT ME! I'm a _good_ dragon. Ahem, also, Judora's name actually came from an alteration of _Majora_ from Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask, and was originally used in my fanfic Master of Masks, which is focused on Majora, and Judora was the evil demon mother of Majora. You could say that character leeked a bit into this story. But yeah, I did notice that the name sounded like that dark Faerie on Neopets. But hey, I think it's a cool name for a powerful and evil woman, don't you?

Pandora Kattalikis: There are more rooms, but they're being stuffed with stuff (mostly Beast Boy and Cyborg's), and the living room, while big, _would_ start to feel crowded with that many people hanging around. Also, I'm being a lazy bum and didn't want to have to add their characters to every chapter, besides, too many OCs can ruin a story, I made that mistake before and I want to keep as much focus on the original Titans as possible. I know I'm stretching it with Shenira, but she's got a big part to play that couldn't be filled by any other titan. Won't say anything else about it, you'll have to wait!

Miyu399: Um, okay. I hope this classifies as 'before tomorrow' because I'm not sure if we're in the same time zone (Lives in Texas), so I hope you get to read this before you have to leave or something!

Well that's all I have to say. Again I'd like to point out that, if you didn't see your name up there, it was because I merely had nothing to say to your review, it does _not_ mean you are being ignored, I'm just at a loss for words is all. Heheh.


	17. Training

A/N: Before we begin this chapter, I'd like to say a few words, and they are: Nitwit Blubber Oddment Tweak!

XP

_Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -  
Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!  
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!  
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!  
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'  
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

The party at Cybiria had lasted for a good while, the time after Raven met Shenira, Malchior had attempted a few of the 'dirty dancing' moves he'd seen other couples performing, only to get himself a smack in the face from Raven, and a sucker punch from Rorek. After that Raven began to show Rorek what Zacroma showed her, and soon he was also dancing, though rather nervously, along with her, and was able to give death glares to any guys who looked like they were about to come over and flirt.

But afterwards, Raven, once again, found her sleep pattern had left her unconscious until noon. Which was _not_ what she needed that day as, once waking up, she suddenly remembered she'd told Shenira she'd be there at noon.

Using magic, she readied herself the next moment, running down stairs, and grabbing a bag of pop-tarts to eat for breakfast, without any explanation as to why she was wearing a spandex tankini top and knee pants. She decided to teleport the next moment, leaving everyone in the room with question marks hovering over their heads.

Having focused improperly, Raven found herself about to fall into the duck pond of Valley Park, she steadied herself and, focusing a lot better this time, was able to teleport to the end of the dirt driveway Shenira had described.

"Sorry I'm a little late!" She huffed, speed eating her pop-tarts, which was difficult as, she suddenly remembered, she did _not_ like pop-tarts.

"Late? You're right on time…did you run the whole way?" Shenira asked, eyes wide.

"Well, not the _whole_ way." Raven lied. (She hadn't run at all, the reason she was panting was because of the rushed teleportation spells)

"Good grief, well alright. So, how shall we do this? Do you want to improve your stamina, dexterity, agility, strength, balance, or skill?" She asked.

"Um, well I don't think my stamina is that bad," You needed stamina to use magic as much as she did, "But everything else would be a plus, though I think skill can come later." Raven answered.

"Oh, with the way I'm going to do this, skill will be gained whether or not we mean for it to be. Alright, let's see here." She mused, opening up a huge trunk that Raven just noticed was there. In fact, the entire yard seemed to have been set up somehow. Or rather, it was always like this. Raven looked up to find that the trees had all been fixed with a sort of challenge course, some with long logs going from one end to another, others with tight ropes, planks, and even a web of ropes, none of which connected to each other, that looked almost impossible to use at _all_.

"Do you…_use_ all of that?" Raven asked, suddenly noticing, though it looked like a sort of rope's course, there were no ropes to speak of. As in, there was nothing to keep one from falling if they messed up.

"Yeah. For a time I worked at a circus, I was the dare-devil. And I like to keep my skills sharp with this." She answered, gesturing about the place.

"You can do anything, can't you?" Raven marveled.

"What? Oh heavens no! Not anything, only when it concerns physical activities. And even then, I could never get the hang of quite a few sports. For instance, once I tried to play Baseball, but I got kicked off the team for hitting the ball at people who ticked me off, on purpose mind. I still don't see why you can't do that, bunch of babies." She snorted, making Raven laugh. "Alright, let's get down to business here. First, put these on, next, give me ten laps around that entire course." She said, first tossing a bunch of weights towards Raven, and then pointing to the whole thing up in the trees. Raven's eyes went wide. "Oh, and at least try to use as little magic as possible, this is physical training after all, but you can stop yourself from falling if you need to." Shenira said with a grin.

Raven stared at her.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't be able to put two-and-two together?" She asked, grinning even more widely. "I was a little surprised when I realized it, but it made sense. Besides, a few more moments of gossip and the entire club realized that the Teen Titans had joined the party. I think Cyborg and Robin were the dead giveaways." She said. "So, are you ready?" She asked.

"Alright, alright. I guess it was just wishful thinking that you wouldn't know who I was." Raven sighed, strapping on the weights.

"I didn't know at first. But when I realized it I asked myself why you'd bother improving your physical prowess? And then I answered myself, because your abnormally intelligent for a teenage girl." She said, musing aloud. "So, since I know you won't fall off and kill yourself, I decided to dump you into that obstacle coarse first thing. If you're really serious about this, you'll only use magic to keep yourself from falling, and that's it. Don't use it to help you balance, and don't use it to make you faster or so that you can keep a hold of one of the ropes. If you fall, you have to start over from the beginning. We'll do this every day until you can get through without falling. And then I'll time you." She explained.

Raven sighed, and knew instantly that she was in for a looooong 4 hours.

XD

"And just where were you!" Zacroma cried, the moment Raven entered the Tower again.

"Hell." She said simply, slumping into the empty sofa, lying on her stomach, her face in the decorative pillows.

"I'll believe it! What happened!" Beast Boy cried.

"Is Raven back? RAVEN! Where were you we were so worried!" Starfire exclaimed as she and Robin came into the room. The next moment, Malchior and Rorek were there as well, as was Cyborg.

"Long story, actually it's not. I met a woman named Shenira at Cybiria, and we got along pretty well, so we decided to meet again. Well, that turned into deciding that I needed to work a little more on my physical strength, dexterity, endurance, all that. So she decided to take me on. Well, seems she use to work at a circus before she became a highly paid bouncer for this one night club, so she's got this whole obstacle coarse up in the trees, and after realizing that I could just float to the ground if I fell, she made me go through it. Well, I never actually finished because, not only was I not suppose to use magic to help me, but I had all these weights strapped to my arms, legs, and waist. It required a lot more than it looked." She explained.

"You couldn't have told us this _before_ leaving without a word!" Malchior exclaimed, pulling on his hair.

"Sorry, last night we all went to bed right after coming back, there wasn't exactly a time for me to say anything, and this morning, well, I had told her I'd be there at noon, and I woke up at noon. So I had to rush." She explained, not even turning her head to look at them as she spoke. "Ugh, I never knew just how _soar_ a body could become." She groaned. "I'm almost tempted to transform into a demon just so it will leave, but I'm not sure just how much good that would do for my human body."

"Well, it seems you're a few steps ahead of me, Raven." Robin said. Raven turned her head to give him a questioning look. "I was thinking, after our last battle with Judora, we all need to do a little more training." He told them. "And not just an hour or two in the training room each day improving the skills we already have, because, let's face it," He turned to Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire, "Compared to the others, we're all lagging behind."

"What are you thinking Robin?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm thinking that, if it's possible, we need to get down to business. Because right now, our greatest enemy is a lot stronger than us, and if we don't improve ourselves to match it, we'll all be handicaps to Raven like we were the last time. Only Malchior, Rorek, and Zacroma were able to fight against the spell Judora put over all of us, for obvious reasons." He said. "The sword Raven gave to me, and the bow she gave to Starfire, help us quite a bit in the strength department, but we won't be able to help at all if we don't adapt ourselves to the tricks of our enemy." He then turned to Zacroma, "You said you were a priestess, well, do you think that you might be able to train _us_ to be priests and priestesses as well?" He asked.

"I get it! In order to fight demons properly, we need to be immune to them as well!" Cyborg said.

Raven pushed herself up, "I see," She said, "And I think, there is a way to do this, without you four having to undergo years of training and vigil. Because what your asking, Robin, would take a lot longer than we have." She said. She then turned to Zacroma, "But I'm going to need more than just a little of your blood." She said grimly.

Zacroma paled, and everyone was staring at her, waiting for an answer. She looked apprehensive, and uncomfortable, but bit her lip and nodded, "Alright, all do whatever I can." She said.

"Right, also," She turned her attention to Malchior and Rorek, "Do either of you have a mastery of swordsmanship?" She asked.

"Of course! I can't even count how many styles of the blade I've learned and mastered!" Malchior boasted.

"Good, then you can train Robin properly." She said, causing him and Robin both to falter.

"What! Can't Rorek teach me!" Robin demanded.

"Um, my half of our weapon mastery involves bows, spears, javelins, and other long-ranged weapons." Rorek answered with a frown.

"Good, then you can help Starfire improve her skill." Raven said. "Zacroma, you're weapon of choice is duel-blades, correct?" She asked.

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"I want you to teach Beast Boy how to fight with them." She answered. "Yesterday I somehow managed the time to study up on that mask, or rather, perform a few spells to make it reveal its secrets to me." She turned her head over to Beast Boy, "And so the only one of you four who won't be getting a weapon from me, will be Cyborg, and I already have a good idea as to what to do with him." She said.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! What sort of 'weapon' is this mask gonna be for me!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"You know how you can only transform into animals on this planet, but can't when that animal or creature is of magical blood? Well, if my guess is correct, you will be able to transform into all manner of mythical beings once you put it on." She then smirked, "You could even become a dragon."

Beast Boy stared at her for a moment, and then cried, "OH SNAP! BOO-YA! I'm gonna be a dragon too yo!" while pointing a jabbing finger at Malchior.

"So? Your level will be determined by your ability to transform. You'll only be able to change into a lesser dragon, imbecile." Malchior snorted.

"But I'll be able to change into other stuff too!" He exclaimed. "Like, like Pegasus, and unicorns, and, uh, trolls, and griffins, and all that stuff!"

"And elves." Raven put in.

"Huh?"

"Elves are distinctly more physically apt than humans, mostly in the area of agility and speed. Zacroma's choice of weapon focuses on these two things more than anything else, so learning to use them as an elf will give you a very good advantage." She said.

"I get it! So what about Cyborg?" Rorek asked.

"I was thinking, well, it would be a bad idea to change your circuitry so that you ran on magic instead of electricity, but if we somehow fused the two together, and replace all of your metal parts with some magical metal like Mithrill, not only would your body become far more powerful, but you would be able to learn and use some spells." Raven said, turning to face Cyborg.

But he looked uneasy at this, "I, I don't know about that, I mean, right now I know how my body works, backward and forward, if we did all of that, well, all I really know about magic is that it exists, and you three can use, in fact you can use a _lot_ of it. What if something malfunctions? I won't have any idea how to fix it!" He said.

"It won't malfunction. You forget, as Dark Raven I can use blood as easily as Avelona probably could. All I would have to do, is focus a lot more on you while using Zacroma's blood to make you all resistant to Judora's dark spells. If I merged your technology with magic that way, and then infused your metal parts with it as well, I seriously doubt that there's _anything_ that could go wrong. _Especially_ since we're using angel blood, hexes and dark spells that might use your new prowess against you wouldn't be able to work." Raven explained.

"I sill don't know about all this, but I'm gonna trust you Rae." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

XD

The next few weeks were possibly the most stannous and enduring days of Raven's entire life, physically anyways. However, not _only_ was she going through hell during Shenira's training, but she was doing a good deal of magic during those days as well. And it might have been alright, if their old enemies hadn't finally surfaced with new, unnecessarily complicated plans to defeat the Titans, taking into account the powerful new additions and Raven's boost. But, she was having to deal with Mad Mod drugging and hypnotizing her, or at least trying to anyways, H.I.V.E. enlisting the help of some witches (who Raven _knew_ from Alabaster's) and having them attempt to 'bind' Raven, Malchior, and Rorek (this, obviously, had no affect whatsoever), Dr. Light giving them a _little_ trouble (until he realized that the one in white was, in fact, _Raven_), and Amazing Mumbo trying to turn Raven into his apprentice again (and then getting smacked in the face with a bout of _real_ magic as Rorek dispelled his illusions and Raven sending jolts of white lightening at him). There were a lot of other villains trying to get their say in, and still the only one the Titans felt they should be worrying about at _all_ was Judora.

Raven's first project had been the mask, but that didn't take very long. All she needed was to change into Dark Raven and fuse it with a little of her and Beast Boy's blood. Hers to make it more powerful, and Beast Boy's so that it would recognize him as its master. After that, it took a time convincing Beast Boy that, no, it was _not_ going to take over his body and make him destroy the world by calling the moon to come crashing down on it like on some video game, and get him to put it on.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then Raven told Beast Boy to try and morph himself into a creature he couldn't before. Seeing as they had done this on the roof, Beast Boy tried to change into a dragon first thing. This, did _not_ work, and Malchior laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes did _not_ help things. Beast Boy had managed a dragon, sort of. First time, the head was _huge_, but the body was the size of a basketball. Next try, it was his tail that was bigger than the rest, though his head wasn't exactly in proportion with the body either. And the next it was the _body_ that was big, and the head, tail, wings, and legs that were too small.

So, Beast Boy started working on something more simple first, and elf. That didn't go over too smoothly either, but it was a lot better than the dragon.

As for Robin, well, it became obvious after the first few days that, though he couldn't resist throwing snide remarks and taunting Robin, Malchior was, in fact, a good teacher. Robin was incredibly soar after the first few practices, but he was getting better quite swiftly, probably because of Malchior egging him on like he did.

For Starfire though, well, all she really needed was a lot of practice. Rorek could give her tips and show her how to shoot multiple arrows at once, but other than that she was good at aiming already. And the perfection of the bow and how it seemed to be morphing to suit her helped as well.

Cyborg was currently working on improving his parts, giving himself (rather expensive) upgrades and trying, now more than ever, to reach past his limits. But other than that, there was little he could do until Raven was ready to _really_ make an upgrade.

As for all that, well, Zacroma seemed to be showing the strain worse than Raven. The first person they'd 'immunized' was Robin. And the transition was painful too, it took a lot out of Robin, Raven, and especially Zacroma. Raven had been given a donation by Malchior and Rorek to help her, but Robin and Zacroma weren't as lucky. Both of them were out of commission for an entire day, Zacroma needing extra care and a lot of nourishing things to eat. But after that, the rest of the Titans were becoming a little more edgy about the entire thing, even though Raven did warn them that it would not be easy.

However, once Robin recovered, it was like he'd been filled with a new sort of energy. He was shining like a bright light, showing a drastic improvement in, not only his training, but in all his old skills as well. In fact, it was so impressive, Beast Boy even _asked_ to be next. But Zacroma wouldn't really be up to another transition like that for a few days still.

With Shenira, Raven, also, was improving. She wasn't falling nearly as much, she wasn't coming home feeling quite as beat as she had, and she had _actually_ finished the coarse and progressed to having a time limit. The weights Shenira strapped to her were getting heavier as well, and the woman herself seemed rather impressed with how swiftly Raven was improving. Though Raven was starting to get the feeling that, now that she was straining herself, her demon side was seeping a little more into her, firming up her muscles and pumping more oxygen through her body with each breath and each heartbeat. It was reacting to the strain like a survival mechanism.

So far, no sign from the Blood Clan, except for one. At the end of the second week after their last big battle, Vincent Gray was reported missing, Mr. Gray had called Raven especially to try and look for him. Well, she didn't find him, but she was on the scene the moment it had been reported.

"Do not touch the circle!" Raven ordered sharply before the policeman could move to try and remove the body. He stopped and glared at her.

"I'm afraid this is a _police_ investigation, Miss Raven, you should just—"

"And I'm afraid that if you _don't_ listen to me you'll be supporting a few serious problems that I'm pretty sure won't be listed in any hospital besides the mental ward." She hissed right back. The next moment Zacroma was there, and she cried out the moment she saw what was going on.

It the remains of a dark ritual, not one to summon a high demon this time, but to summon, if Raven wasn't mistaken, a wraith. A circle had been made of blood in the grass, hangman's blood, the type of blood Judora had used to create the circle that, had Raven absorbed it, would have had a good try in turning her back into a demon. It was this blood, mixed with that of a demon's, which could do things, things Raven would rather not think about. Vincent had been tied to the ground with the use of stakes, his wrists and ankles were bloody where the ropes held him, obvious that he had been struggling throughout the entire thing. His entire chest looked as if it had been cut open, one cut from the base of his neck down to his waist, and another across his chest. The flesh had been ripped back, revealing the disgusting and mangled organs, black and bloody, hardly distinguishable from each other, but there was no blood on the ground around him. His face had been frozen into a look of terror, stuck in a scream that most likely tore his lungs up on the inside.

Raven looked away, her face twisted in a grimace. All the markings, all the signs, left out in the open for all to see. There was no doubt it had been a wraith, bursting from his chest. But what did Judora need with a wraith? And why Vincent? Why did they have to use him for something big?

Well, that could be for many reasons. The boy might have had an extremely high tolerance for dark magic, he could have been easily possessed by ghosts and spirits, he might even have had a little demon blood running in his veins. Not much, probably 1 millionth of a percent, but even that little was still some. After all, demons aren't exactly monogamous, and had no problem sleeping with humans in the olden times.

It didn't really matter, what mattered now was getting Vincent out of that circle. Raven looked at Zacroma, who nodded, and formed a blade in her hand. She cut herself, and sprinkled the gathered blood from her hand over the circle.

Almost immediately it burst into violently white flames. Raven shielded her eyes, there were cries from the police and Crime Scene Investigation team as the blood in the circle was completely destroyed. Once it had died, Raven walked over to the body, and knelt down, she placed her hands on his face, and almost screamed.

"Zacroma! Get over here quick!" She yelled.

"What! What is it!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"I don't believe this, they've trapped the soul inside this body! He's still alive in there!" She yelled in furry. _How could someone, even the Tainted, be so cruel!_ "Stay back!" She snapped at the bystanders, who were about to rush in once again. They glared at her, and pressed forward, but she pulled up a barrier to stop them. "Alright, now that that's taken care of, here." Raven said, taking the knife from Zacroma.

Swiftly, she cut a long gnash in her arm with the blade, and almost immediately what blood had come out was sucked back into the wound, but not just that, it spread about her body, transforming her into Dark Raven.

Without even being told, Zacroma stuck out her still bleeding hand, and Raven took it, and sucked.

Fire, pure and exciting, filled her entire being. The familiar feeling of ultimatum, of being utterly limitless coursed throughout her body, infusing her with a power like a sweet, tantalizing fruit forbidden to her. She'd felt this once before, when she had taken great amounts of Zacroma's blood into her system, and then relinquishing it to Robin in such a form that his human body would be able to adapt to it swiftly. It was the sort of feeling that every being longs for but doesn't know, being so close to purity, far away from sin and darkness. With this blood, she could do the impossible.

And she did. She placed her hands upon the boy's shape, and in a few short moments, his body mended itself, the ropes fell like rotten strings from his wrists and the wounds from them disappeared. His face relaxed from the horrified look, and he began to breath, steady, strong, as the soul began to rest back into the entire body, no longer trapped, but no longer trying to leave either.

When this was finished, he was staring at her as she heaved a little out of exertion. "Y-you." He whispered, "You were real, you _are_ real. I knew…I knew…it was real, you, you saved me, you saved me again."

"**You were not suppose to remember, but I doubt there is much we can do about this now."** Raven said with a grave frown, **"You could only have unlocked such memories, if you wanted to remember a good deal. So why, why did you wish to keep hold on memories that would torment you for the rest of your life?"** She asked him.

"Because, because you saved me. You came out of the darkness to help me, you're a demon, but you're a good guy. You're scary, but you're on my side. I wanted to remember…" He answered, still staring up at Raven with an almost idolizing look of awe.

"**Then swear to me that you will not breath a word to anyone. The horrors that you have faced are not meant for the human world to know of, you may keep your memories if you wish to so much, but guard yourself against those who tried to kill you and seal you in an eternal purgatory. Do you understand?"** She asked.

He nodded, "Yes."

"**Good."** Raven turned to Zacroma, **"We will need to wipe away the mental and technological records of what has happened here, to do this I am going to require a bit more of your blood."** She said.

"Right," Zacroma used the knife and slit her wrist so that the vein was cut as well, and held it out to Raven, who greedily lapped it up so that not a drop landed on the ground.

XD

"What could Judora do with a wraith?" Robin asked warily.

"And what _is_ a wraith!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Okay, how many of you have seen Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?" Raven asked.

"Azka-what?" Malchior questioned, completely bemused. However everyone else, save Rorek, raised their hands.

"You know what a Dementor is, right?" She questioned.

"Heck yeah! Those creepy things with the hoods and stuff! Why?" Beast Boy questioned suspiciously.

"That's a wraith, or rather, that's _like_ a wraith. Sucking happiness out of humans is only _one_ of their powers, and sucking their soul out as well. But that isn't all they do. They're called Death Wraiths because that is what they are, death in the living world, grim reapers who take souls without bothering to make sure the person is dead first, only they _keep _the soul for themselves. I can't see why this one didn't take Vincent's soul, though, it's odd. But they're also the most powerful and deadly servants of necromancers. So far as I know, the only thing they have in common with demons is that they were both banished to the same realm during the Purge." Raven said.

"Uh, what? What's the 'Purge'?" Asked Cyborg.

"The time in which the First God slowly became the only god that Earth bowed down to." Malchior explained. "I should know, I watched as it happened. Other races, the dark ones first, were being killed off by the churches, and the records of them destroyed. I don't really think He was too happy about it, though, but anyway,

"It started with the darker, more evil races. While we were still walking the earth as one, demons were being killed off and banished by a joint effort on the part of all races, even the race of dark elves were helping in this, so you didn't find many demons around that weren't possession someone, because the ones with bodies were persecuted by armies. But that's just where it started. Necromancy was already a forbidden art, so death wraiths were dealt with by the churches, who were the ones with the power to kill these truly evil creatures."

"But then humans began to turn on those who had been their fellows in this war, after demons were becoming less and less of a threat. Humans were always the most close-minded of creatures, but the bad part was they had the easiest time propagating and they grew swiftly, so there were more humans than any other single race. The other races, elves, dwarves, and even fairies tried to get along with humans, but when just a handful of them acts violent towards a human, the race was labeled an enemy almost immediately, even though humans were constantly being hostile to even the most docile of creatures." Rorek came in.

"After a time, even the pure creatures such as unicorns and crystal dragons were being hunted. Now, high dragons like us aren't restricted to a single planet, we can travel through space faster than light. In fact, we weren't even born on earth, but on the planet you call Saturn. I imagine Saturn and Jupiter are currently home to thousands of dragon civilizations, they were the favored planets, and the sun is probably teeming with the offspring of what the higher dragons saved of the lesser dragons. But the rest of these races weren't so lucky." Malchior said.

"Magic became something to fear, and the old, now extinct, races became myths and legends. The patrion gods of each race bowed to the will of the First God as He is their creator and took their people with them into their own realms of death. The sciences of old were lost forever because they needed magic to work properly, and magic was soon associated with the mythical races. The churches forbade these practices, and even began to burn anyone accused of this magic, calling them 'witches'." Rorek added.

"Though it was all completely ridiculous as, if they had ever _really_ caught a witch, it would be their own skin burning. Witches were usually the most respectable men and women in the entire town, and they were the ones who edged people towards others to burn in their place. Especially if someone was on their scent, you got suspicious of a real witch, and it would be _you_ burning on that stake." Malchior said. "But that's how things went, and, to my knowledge, the Purge has yet to be completed. But that's not at all surprising, I mean, society sort of did a complete turn-around and, though they can't really show it off in public, the mythical races are more comfortable now. What's left of them anyway. I mean, I imagine a lot of your villans with superhuman powers like you are decedents of a few different mixes." He explained.

"People with supernatural power probably all have a little of the mystical blood in them. So yeah, that's what the Purge is, mostly during the renaissance timeframe I think." Rorek finished.

Everyone _stared_, most with open mouths, some just with really wide eyes, and it took a minute for Rorek and Malchior to realize the odd looks they were receiving. "What?" They asked, at the same time, and with the same tone of voice. But then, suddenly, they seemed to realize that they were, not only finishing each other's train of thought, but they were also standing beside each other as well. With a cry, they separated to the opposite ends of the room.

"Okay, that was just, just _freakish_ man." Beast Boy said.

"Uh, you two can slow down with the merging anytime now! This is really creeping us out!" Cyborg put in.

"I thought you said you were _done_ with your merging for the year!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"I thought we were!" They answered at the same time, they then shot glares at each other, "Stop it! No _you_ stop it! I said stop! Gah, shut up!" They cried in frustration.

"It, must have something to do with Judora." Raven remarked. They all looked at her, "Every time we see her, it's like they become a little more like each other."

"Which is exactly what she wants." Robin pointed out frowning.

"Yes, so she _could_, very well, be doing this on purpose, seeing as how she needs the power of a gray dragon to resurrect Trigon from the dead. I still don't know how she thinks she can do that, but she's obviously convinced, and that can't bode well." Raven agreed.

"So what, do we want them to merge, or not?" Asked Zacroma.

"Depends on _when_ it happens. If it happens and they're currently being tied to an alter with Judora looming over them holding a sacrificial implement, no. If they're just sitting here and suddenly there's a flash of light and then it's Malorek, yes." Raven said. (By now she'd, of course, told them all about that dream.)

"Because then we're a gray dragon, the most powerful dragon in the cosmos, and therefore Judora would be roast the next moment she decided to show her ugly face." Malchior said with a hiss.

"Is there anything we can do to prevent them from being forced to merge by Judora?" Asked Robin.

Raven sighed and hung her head, "Robin, you forget, right now, _anything_ is possible for us. But even Dark Raven using Angel's blood has to go by a few rules. For one, I don't know if I would be able to keep them separated, and then merge them back after this is all over. It could create a permanent gap between them, and gods know we don't want _that_ to happen." Malchior snorted, "Shut up, and get over it." Raven snapped irritably. "Besides, we're putting _enough_ strain on Zacroma as it is—"

"What if you sped up the merging instead, though?" Exclaimed Beast Boy suddenly. Malchior and Rorek glared at him, but his eyes found Zacroma, who paled suddenly, "Or, not." He said, sounding guilty.

"We're already asking a good deal out of Zacroma, doing a powerful spell like that is asking far to much." Raven told him flatly. "Keeping the gap open would be easier."

"Alright, so we continue with our training sessions." Robin said grimly, "Raven, I think you should work on Cyborg next. If my assumption from what I've gathered is correct, he'll be spending the most time recovering out of all of us, and we'll need him."

"Right." Cyborg said, crossing his arms over his chest, and trying not to look _too_ apprehensive.

XP

A/N: You guys are lucky I got this chapter out because I have a friend over and she's a bit more important than _you_. No kidding, LOL! Anyways, for those of you who are still wondering, Cybiria is a dance club in Serial Experiments Lain. I think some of you got it, but you didn't send me a way to your e-mail address! So no Fanart for _you_!

Raven002: Cool! I'm glad it went well, but how did you do it? Is it an on-going production type thing? Or did you just take a few points of the fic and smash them together so it would fit into a time-frame? I'm a little confused, but tell everyone I said You're Welcome!

I'm InTeReStInG: I am going to kill your name. Ahem, anyways, how do you _think_ Malchior was gonna dance with Raven? . Banned from Teen Titans? How'd _that_ happen? And how does that work! Did you get bad grades because of it or something? Alright, I don't wanna know, but that's just crazy! And I guess I'll check out your stories later if I remember, but right now I'm in a bit of a rush.

Jack Inqu: To tell you the truth, I was going to have Beast Boy get that very power before you reviewed, that's what the mask was for, obviously. And Cyborg's gonna get a power up as well so it all works out. And don't worry, I _will_ be giving them a good fight. You think Judora's gonna take their power ups lying down?

Well, that's about it, now I have to go because my friend has been neglected enough already. Ja ne!


	18. The Spider's Web

XP

_And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting  
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;  
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,  
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;  
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor  
Shall be lifted - nevermore!_

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe.

XD

"**Sanguineus Factus Spiritus, Factus Cendere, Factus Aura, Factus Aqua, Factus Ventulus, Factus Humus, Factus Fulmineus, Factus Lux, Factus Nox, Factus Mortis."** Dark Raven chanted, her eyes half-closed in a trance, and her hands drawing indistinct images in the air with the silver blood she was releasing from her fingers as it fell into Cyborg's body. He was biting his lip, trying with all his might to keep from screaming.

Raven repeated the chant a few times, and Cyborg's body began to change. Not just on the inside, but on the outside as well. The metal was turning into a gold color, while the blue fluid tanks were becoming red. He was being brave through this, but Raven new the ordeal was excruciating, more so than it had been for Robin.

But when it was over, instead of instantly passing out, Cyborg got up off the makeshift alter, and walked himself into his room without needing anyone's help. Zacroma, however, had to be awakened so that she could drink down a potion Rorek had concocted to help her. She was able to carry herself to her bed as well after this.

_Raven_, on the other hand, stayed conscious just long enough to accept Malchior's donation of blood, revert back to her human state, and then she blacked out, having to be carried up to her room.

XD

**It fluttered, swayed, like liquid, so beautiful, so pure. White, white! Cloth, it flowed out of her reach, she fell back, the white shirt, the white dress faded and darkness became dominant. Utter darkness! Nothing for even a demon's eye to see, only the sensation of falling, the doom, pounding in her ears, the feeling of utter failure. Failure, failure to succeed, to protect those she cared about, she had failed, there was nothing she could do, nothing.**

_**Paper white skin, long black hair, four horizontal slits for eyes glowing red, black clothing torn and ripped, insanity, blood dripping from fangs. And there were horns upon the crown, black demonic wings protruding from her back, hands and feet had become claws. It was a monster, she was a monster, standing upon a rock, an ocean of blood around her, blood that she drank greedily. Oh the power! To rip the soul from the body, to take the heart and sink her teeth into it, the blood it still pulsed to pump gushing down her throat like the most delicious of wines.**_

_**And something glittered, then shone. Pouring out light that filled the desolation with a ray of hope. A shape, obscured by the glow, the beautiful light that enveloped it, a cross?**_

_**Falling, falling, what was happening! No, it couldn't end this way! She had to hold on!**_

_**A glimmer, a bottle, crystal blue with a woman's figure engraved in delicate silver. The handle felt warm, the small amount of water in it glowed brightly, almost humming with a promise of hope.**_

_**Silver, a mirror like liquid, was it mercury? No…it was something else, it was beautiful…silver…**_

**A sinister green snake with a blood red underbelly raised its head, gliding slowly towards her, its fangs dripping with a venom that could melt bones in an instant, its eyes, red slits, it's flat nose flaring, it came closer, hissing seductively, and then it struck.**

**A dagger, curved and wide with hooks on the back and ancient runes on each side, pulsing with power, with magic, the hand that held it was obscured in shadows, it hurled at her, piercing her stomach, into that very place, the very same spot in her heart, the very tip of its point sank just a little into the surface of that most precious muscle.**

Raven let out a scream, coming from her stomach, to her chest, and out her lungs with such a force that her room seemed to shake with it. She bit down on her hand to stop it, but even though she could suddenly taste blood, that pain was nothing compared to what was in her stomach. Burning, pulsing, searing, oh how it hurt! The pain, tears were seeping from her eyes in torrents, and she was only vaguely aware of the beings around her, crying out in concern. They sounded far away, like they didn't matter much, all that mattered was the pain.

One hand clutching her middle, the other hand being bitten into so hard blood was running down it freely, Raven tried to fight the sobs, but couldn't. She cried, she couldn't help it, such emotions were tearing her apart from inside, and only when she'd cried herself horse, only when the pain had subsided into a mere throb, did she notice one pair of powerful arms holding her close, while a pair of gentle hands were clutching her free hand and stroking her face and head, whispering comforting words into her ear.

XD

"That's the worse that it's ever been. This time, I could _feel_ the blade, I could see it, I could tell where it went in, and where it had caused its damage. I felt like I was dying, but the emotions I felt…it was like a feeling of hopelessness, like I had lost everything, including the will to live, and I just _let_ the blade come without the slightest bit of effort in trying to stop it." Raven explained, setting her nearly-empty cup of tea down. The next moment Rorek refilled it again.

"Keep drinking until it's all gone." He advised.

"Could you see the person holding the blade?" Asked Robin.

"No," Raven answered, after taking another long drink. The pain was nearly a memory now, and the raging emotion was as well. But the dream was not, the few vague images she remembered felt as though they'd been burned to the back of her eyelids, she kept seeing them, remembering thought processes. "I saw a hand shape, but it was all shadowy."

"What was the dream like?" Zacroma asked from her spot on the couch (icepack secured to her head and a different batch of Rorek's tea being poured into her cup by Beast Boy).

"Vague, yet vivid at the same time. The first thing I remember was seeing the white dress again, or shirt, whatever it was. Some form of white clothing. And I was falling, it seemed to be fading into darkness, and then," she stopped, remembering what had come next. She shuddered.

"What?" Asked Malchior.

"I saw…I saw myself, but, I wasn't me anymore, I had changed, completely. I was the demon, devouring human flesh, innocent or not, it didn't matter. I was surrounded by a sea of human bodies and blood, killing without purpose, insane." She shook her head. "And then there was a cross, it was on fire too, no, it wasn't, it was enveloped in a bright light, a ray of hope I think. Then I felt as though I was falling again, like a continuation of the first part of the dream, and after that I saw this bottle, it was made out of a blue crystal substance and had a woman's figure as a set for its handle, there was a little bit of water in it, and the water glowed brightly. Then I saw something silver, it looked almost like a liquid substance, but different somehow. After that, I saw Judora's familiar coming after me, I think it struck at me, but I didn't feel _that_. And then there was the dagger." Raven explained.

"_Those_ might be symbols of some sort, some of them at least. The snake, well, we _know_ what that represents. I doubt we need telling really." Zacroma said. "The white cloth could symbolize your purity being taken away from you, and then you'd be left with the demon."

"Yeah, and the cross could symbolize some way of reversing the process? Or stopping it altogether?" Beast Boy asked hopefully.

"So we find a cross that glows brightly all the time and have Raven wear it. How is _that_ gonna help us?" Malchior snorted sarcastically. "We've learned from experience that Raven doesn't exactly dream in symbols, not often anyway."

"But what about the bottle? You think that would have something to do with reversing it as well?" Robin questioned.

"Perhaps friend Raven must drink the water in order to change back." Starfire suggested.

"Of course, this is all assuming the dream's a warning, and not a memory." Rorek put in. Everyone sighed.

"But how could Raven's demon side be a memory?" Starfire suddenly came up.

"True, meaning some of it could be a warning. But what's a warning and what's a memory? I'm pretty sure the knife, the pain in her chest, is a memory. Whether Judora is sending it to her somehow or Avelona experienced something like that herself which had nothing to do with Judora, we don't know. It could be how Avelona was finally killed, I mean, you'd think someone like that might have the secret to eternal youth, so we can rule out old age." Rorek agreed.

"So what, Judora was betrayed by Avelona, and then Avelona was betrayed by someone? It feels too similar to me, too much of a coincidence." Raven said.

"So then Judora might be sending that dream to Raven? So what makes us so sure she isn't sending Raven those other dreams as well?" Beast Boy questioned.

"She could have absorbed a little from Judora. I mean, if Raven even had a drop of Judora's blood splatter on her while in demon form, it would make sense." Malchior put in.

"But, remember, I had that pain _before_ we met Judora. It could have something to do with the connection Avelona and Judora had, though. Maybe Avelona regretted her actions after she killed Judora?" Raven questioned.

"But if that were the case, how did Judora survive?" Asked Robin.

"Reincarnation isn't hard so long as the body is still roughly in tact, especially when dealing with a Tainted being. The fact that she's still around doesn't seem all that surprising, even if _her_ body was utterly destroyed, so long as her familiar was still there, the body could be re-made, sometimes even more powerful than before." Raven answered.

"Oh." He said.

"That sucks." Beast Boy added.

"The knife that pierced you, what kind of blade was it?" Asked Malchior.

"It looked like a sacrificial dagger, but it was…well, it seemed to be made out of a red crystal." She answered.

Malchior summoned some paper and a pencil, "Draw it." He said, handing them to her.

Raven furrowed her brow, taking a moment to remember (which wasn't hard) and began to sketch.

It wasn't perfect, but it got the basic idea across. "There." She said, holding it up to show everyone. Malchior took it to study, his expression was oddly grim. "What?"

"This sort of blade…it was popular once, used as a bane against evil and for a lot of spells regarding the banishment of said evil." He commented, "They have since been turned into sacrificial implements for dark rituals."

Raven frowned, "Once good but turned evil." She said in recollection. "They'll be a favorite for dark rituals now. But a long time ago…"

"Yes." Malchior nodded.

"So what, was that part of the dream from Judora, or Avelona?" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"We don't know." Rorek answered.

XD

"Hey Raven," Zacroma hailed, "You think I could come with you to Shenira's today?" She asked.

Raven blinked, "I guess, why?" She asked.

Zacroma shrugged, "Well, I was thinking about trying this obstacle coarse out myself." She answered. But Raven could tell there was an uneasiness about her for some reason.

"Alright, might want to put on a simple spandex outfit, I'll be leaving in about 5 minutes so hurry up." Raven told her.

"Okidoki!" She said brightly, running up to her room.

Five minutes later, Raven teleported both of them to Shenira's place. It was a patch of land, cleared out and with a very well cared for lawn, surrounded by large, study trees which all seemed to support some sort of object that would account for its use as an obstacle coarse component. The house, however, had a sort of run-down look to it. Raven knew it was kept in perfect condition, however, Shenira encouraged the look by letting the windows get so dirty on the outside you could barely see through them, allowing the porch to creek a bit, and she even plastered some remnants of paint over the actual layer to make it look as though it had been pealing for a while. Even the roof had a look of disrepair to it. On the inside, however, the place was as well kept and clean as you could imagine. It was decorated with dark, gothic themes, not least of all was the spider theme Shenira was so fond of, and she kept the lights dim most of the time, along with heavy curtains over most of the windows, so it was a different kind of creepy/spooky on the inside than out.

"That's odd." Zacroma muttered.

"What is?"

"I could have sworn the day was a little brighter than this, oh well." She said with a shrug..

"Huh?" Raven questioned.

"Well, the place looks…I dunno, dimmer, like the sun can't come through as well around here. It could be the atmosphere your friend purposely put up though, probably has an odd effect or something." She answered.

"I don't doubt it." Said a voice behind them. Raven turned, calmly, and was about to greet Shenira, had Zacroma not wheeled around and suddenly shrieked, dodging almost instantly behind Raven.

"Uh, Zacroma?" Raven asked. She looked over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed. Zacroma was sheet white, staring at Shenira with an almost petrified expression on her face. "Zacroma what's going on?" Raven demanded.

"I change my mind! I change my mind!" She exclaimed. Raven just stared at her incredulously.

"_What_?"

"What's with your friend? Is she afraid of spiders?" Shenira asked, unable to keep the smirk from her face.

"Um, I did tell you she had a lot of spiders, didn't I?" Raven asked.

"A-a-I, Raven I think we should g-go, now!" Zacroma said, shaking Raven a little but keeping her eyes on Shenira.

"Zacroma if you're scared you can leave, but I didn't think you were afraid of spi—"

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF SPIDERS, SHE'S GOING TO KILL YOU!" Zacroma burst, jabbing an accusing finger at Shenira.

"_What_? Why in the world would I do that!" Shenira demanded, looking utterly bewildered.

"I don't know! You tell me you back-stabbing harlot!" She yelled, suddenly reversing their rolls and putting herself in front of Raven, "I'm not going to let you hurt Raven, you hear me! Raven let's go now!" She said.

"Zacroma _what _has gotten into you!" Raven demanded as the girl formed her duel daggers from her gem and crouched into a fighting stance.

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME! Teleport us back to the Tower and I'll explain everything!" Zacroma shrieked.

"**Mind Stun**!" Shenira suddenly exclaimed, her voice seeming to echo as a wave of force hit Zacroma, and caused her to fall to the ground. "Unfortunately, I can't allow that." She said, her expression suddenly changing from bemused to deadly.

Raven immediately readied a spell in her hands, but it was too late. "**Power of mana, grant me ropes of binding**!" Shanira cried out. "**Mind Stun**!"

XD

It was cold, freezing. Her entire body felt like a block of ice, and it was dark, but not _too_ dark.

Groggily, Raven's eyes gradually began to open. The scene before her was blurred and unfamiliar, as if her eyes were just now getting use to seeing again. It seemed that way with all her senses, slowly she began to smell odd things in the air, to hear the movement and the crackling of lit torches. She was in a large room, it was darkly lit, and she was positioned up on a wall, her arms out and her head bowed, tied down with something strange. There was an alter in the middle of the room, and a circle around it, but not like any circle she'd ever seen before. And there were a few tables, shelves, and odd tapestries whose pictures she couldn't make out. For a moment, she could think of nothing, remember nothing, not even who she was.

And then it all came back to her.

"YOU!" Raven shrieked, spotting Shenira, who was currently mixing something in some strange apparatus. Shenira jumped and spun, staring at her with a wide expression on her face. "Who are you? Why did you attack Zacroma and I!" She demanded furiously, trying with all her might to get at her, but finding that she was bound hopelessly to a wall, or was it a wall?

Shenira frowned, "I guess I shouldn't be surprise you broke from that spell so swiftly. You always were famous for the impossible." She hissed.

"What? What are you talking about! Who are you and what do you want!" Raven exclaimed, fighting with all her might against the white substance holding her down. It gave only a little to her efforts, but refused to break or let her go, kind of like some extremely stubborn rubber.

Shenira walked calmly over to her and looked up into her eyes, "You don't remember? Not even now? I know you have some memories, I could see it in your eyes, you know me in some way but you don't know what."

"Look, if this has something to do with all that 'Avelona' crap, forget it! I have nearly no recollection at all, and I can tell you right now that our only connection is the whole reincarnation thing. I'm my own person, so if Avelona did something to you in the past, taking it out on me isn't going to do a bit of good." She said.

"You, fool." Shenira said evenly, still glaring up into Raven's eyes. "This isn't about what you did, it's about what you _are_. An abomination, a creature that should never walk the face of the earth ever again. You loathsome, self-righteous, _monster_! I was the only one who wasn't fooled by you and your trickery! The only one who wasn't cast under your spell. Yes, others did have doubts about you, but they didn't do anything about it! And Mother! You stole my Mother from me b! You paraded about the castle, as if you owned it! And then you had the gall to come up to me and tell me you'd 'purified' yourself! You seemed to have been working extra hard to win _me_ over, probably because I was the most resistant to your enchantments. But it didn't work, did it? And now you've come back to darken this world again! Well, Avelona, I will not let you. Your little puppets couldn't save you last time, and they won't now!" She ranted.

Raven just stared at her, her heart was beating strongly in her ears. Realization was flooding over her, the dreams came back in full force. Betrayal, hopelessness, ultimate depression, and no will to live. Raven felt the emotions begin to build up and seep out through her eyes, "You…you were…but I thought…" She croaked. "That, wasn't Judora, it wasn't her memories I was having, it wasn't _Avelona's_ diary I was reading. Those were my memories, that was your diary."

"Yes, you read my diary," She snarled, unsheathing the very knife that Raven had dreamed about recently, that very dagger with the curve, the hooks on the back, and the runes etched into each side. "You read it just before I finally killed you."

"All I ever wanted, was to be someone, you would call, your sister, Chire'ni!" Raven exclaimed, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Suddenly a bright light burst from her, destroying the spider silk that bound her and illuminating the entire room. But it also seemed to strike at 'Shenira's' skin, ripping it off and taking bits of her hair as well. When it had died, Raven was standing there, her eyes brimming with furious tears, and Chire'ni, Avelona's adopted sister, was standing before her. Her skin black like coal, her hair as white as snow, her ears elongated and pointed, and her eyes, blue with green rims. The very eyes that haunted Raven's dreams.

"You've remembered. Maybe you'll finally cut all your 'sister' crap now and face me like a real woman."

Raven clenched her teeth and glared at Chire'ni, there was a torrent of emotions welling up inside of her, rage, betrayal, and a deep seeded yearning. But not hate…no, never hate.

XD

Zacroma struggled relentlessly against the spell that held her mind, and therefore her body, practically in a useless state. Her hands clenched and unclenched, she ground her teeth and tried to move, but she could barely lift her face. She fought hard, making furious attempts to move, until finally her arm shot down to her side, and the spell seemed to shatter around her.

She was barely even up in a sitting position before she snatched up her communicator and punched it to get Malchior's.

"Hello?" Came his voice.

"Malchior! It's me, it's Zacroma!" She cried, her voice slurring a bit as she was still experiencing the aftereffects of that hex. "Get, get Rorek and, the others! Raven, Raven's in trouble! That woman, Shenira, she's going to kill Raven!" She exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.

"WHAT! Where are you! What's your general location!" He demanded.

"V-Valley park, hurry!" She sobbed.

She didn't have to wait long, the next second Malchior and Rorek had appeared, both of them running towards her. "What happened?" Rorek exclaimed.

Zacroma burst into tears again, "That woman! Shenira, I had a vision and she killed Raven! She was, she was different, but it was her! I tried to, tried to stop her, I tried to warn Raven but, but she put a stunning spell on me, and somehow did the same to Raven as well because now, I don't know! I don't know where they are!" She exclaimed. Malchior tried to place a steadying hand on her shoulder, but this didn't exactly have the effect he was hoping for as Zacroma practically launched herself into him and started crying hopelessly.

"Hey! Calm down and get a grip, woman!" Malchior ordered, taking her shoulders and pushing her away so he could shake her a bit, "Raven isn't dead yet, we'd know if she was. So there's still some time left, and likely, they're in the house. So snap out of it and let's go!" He ordered.

Zacroma whipped her face in a furious attempt to banish her tears, "You're right!" She croaked, slapping herself. "But what about the others?" She asked.

"No time, Malchior yelled out what was happening and then he and I teleported. We can't wait for them." Rorek answered as Malchior helped Zacroma to her feet.

"Right, okay." She said, her voice clearing up. She then picked up her duel daggers and ran practically head-long into the house, Malchior and Rorek coming in after her.

XP

A/N: CLIFFHANGER! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh man, I had you guys _going_ didn't I? Wooo! And so the plot twists around like this wad of sticky tack that I can't stop playing with… ahem! Anysway, in case you all were wondering, Chire'ni is pronounced: Sheerey nee, though the Shee is pronounced swiftly, the r is a merge between r and l pronunciation, and the nee is just ni, like The Knights Who Say 'Ni!' in Monty Python. That kind. It's Japanese pronunciation with the vowels and the 'r', so yeah.

Troubled-ego: Well, I use to be into Neopets, but I am a _huge_ fan of Legend of Zelda, it's like my most favoritest game ever, well, for Nintendo. For Playstation it's DDR, so yeah, that works! As for names, well, most I get off the top of my head, but usually you have to work to get a really evil name down which is easy to pronounce so you can get the evilness of it fairly swiftly.

Me(?): Um, no, necromancy is something you find in a lot of places like Diablo 2, Aurian book series, and other places I can't remember. If you looked it up on the internet I'm sure you'd find a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with the Sabriel trilogy (Which reminds me I need to check those books out, they look interesting).

Runeka: Let me guess, you're one of those who keeps getting dropped into different dimensions, on top of bishonen more often than not, and just happened to keep landing on those two because they're _mega super ultra_ bishonen? Yeah, I understand, I happens a lot. You know I think the fates just like messing with some people that way, someone should flame them about it, it can be really irritating, _especially_ when I get flipp'n human _males_ landing on top of _me_! Which really doesn't happen too often because daddy gets mad whenever that happens and…okay I'll stop right there.

Pandora Kattalikis: Well, they're not _exactly_ running on magic, more like angel blood, which has a vague number of varying effects with the way Raven uses it. It isn't really suppose to be magic at all, in fact it isn't, but what you see that isn't blatantly magical is a sort of force, from Zacroma's blood. But yeah, you're right, it is stretching the line a bit. But it's not like I ever clamed to be perfect! Besides, this is a very _Raven_ centered fanfic, and Raven's power is magic, so, I'm allowed to stretch the line a bit as it's _fanfiction_. Haha!

Well, that's about it. And while you guys are still suffering from shock, why don't you press the pretty button and express that emotion into words which will find their way into my inbox!

Ja ne


	19. I Love You

A/N: You guys are lucky to have gotten this chapter today, I didn't get _anything_ written out the other day and it was a rush to get this finished up last night. So BE THANKFUL! Lol, j/k!

XP

"I get it now, the knife, the dreams, how some of them didn't make sense with what we thought. And also, why and how I was born again. It was you, when you killed Avelona, you sent her to the realm where the demons and other dark entities were banished, didn't you?" Raven asked quietly, tears were still streaming down her eyes, the remains of what happened over a thousand years ago, seeping through her soul. Her eyes were shaded by her bangs, she couldn't look at this woman, this woman who, again, she had wished to be friends with, family even. The woman who's eyes were the same as the ones in her dreams. The cruel, accusing, eyes, those filled with both fear and resentment, of judgment.

"Yes." Chire'ni answered, not a trace of emotion in her voice. "And yet you somehow managed to return, didn't you? How?" She asked evenly.

Raven looked up and glared furiously at her, "Couldn't have just flat out killed me could you!" She nearly yelled, "No, I deserved something worse, didn't I! A lifetime of nothing but healing and a war against demons and creatures of evil, and I couldn't have been given a simple death! You want to know _why_ I'm still here! BECAUSE YOU PUT ME IN THE SAME DIMENSION AS TRIGON!" She shrieked, pulling on her hair. "The embodiment of Satan himself, I had banished him to that realm, I don't remember _any_ of it, but I know it happened! And only so that he could use _me_, **_me_** as his Chosen! It wasn't just a coincidence, it wasn't fate playing some cruel joke, it was _you_!" Tears were burning her cheeks now, flowing freely as she realized that everything, everything she'd had to go through, all of the painful ordeals that lead her to completely suppress her emotions, her father continuously tormenting her, the creature inside of her always fighting to get out, the continuous reminder that if she screwed up just _once_ it was the end of everything, it was all thanks to _her_.

And she'd do it all over again.

Raven wiped away her tears and swallowed the sobs that were fighting to be released. She could see her friends faces flashing through her mind, and none as clear as Malchior and Rorek. She loved them, she loved them all so dearly, and they cared about her so much. It was selfish and stupid to wish that none of it had happened, to focus so much on the bad that she overlooked the good. No, she wasn't going to be like that, she wasn't going to blame Chire'ni for this.

"Oh, silly me, I've been all wrong." Chire'ni simpered, her voice dripping with sarcasm and resentment, "Oh Avelona, can you ever forgive me for being so thoughtless? How could I have _ever_ doubted you even after _you killed Val'hilran_?" She said, her voice becoming a low growl.

Raven blinked and stared at her, "_Who_?" The name sounded familiar but…

"You don't even remember her." She spat, "_My _aunt, the sister of _my_ mother! She was brought back to us from the surface, and her neck was punctured, the teeth marks matched yours exactly. I should know, with how many times I watched you take blood from Mother! You clamed to be purified, but how could that be when you were still in need of blood! I imagine you took some from those you healed as payment up on the surface. Did she try to stop you or something? Did she get in your way! Or is that just what you do to _family_?"

"I…I killed her?" Raven murmered, looking down at her hands. Was she wrong in this?

"They called you the 'White Magus', but there was nothing white about you! You were never even a proper child, you never smiled, you never laughed, only now that you're a demon do I see you doing either! You were a true monster when you came to us, and we should have killed you from the start! It was only after you killed off an army of surface-dwellers that you regained sanity, had your fill of bloodshed after that I suppose. At least for a while it seemed. I wonder how many other people you killed that were never discovered."

"…White Magus…that was me? I was…" she swallowed hard, "No, it, it can't…I didn't…I…" She dug her fingers into her scalp, pulling at her hair as she did. "No…" She whispered, falling to her knees.

It was her, not Judora, her. _She_ had been the one, the one who had separated Malchior and Rorek, it was her. But, but _why_? Why would she do that? _"She was always fairly…dark. She was only called the White Magus because she liked to wear white a lot, but she really wasn't the kind that smiled much. I can't really remember her very well anymore, I don't even remember her name."_ Rorek's voice came to her.

They'd had no problems believing that the White Magus could have become the Black Magus Judora, could it be that…that Avelona really _wasn't_ all that good? That she'd actually been…that she had been exactly as Chire'ni seemed to believe?

"HOW!" Chire'ni's voice suddenly boomed, jerking Raven back to the present. She was looming over her, an odd expression on her face, "How! How is it that you show remorse now! That you can shed tears and feel regret, even though you're a demon in blood!" She shrieked, pulling at her own hair.

"Because I'm not Avelona!" Raven suddenly cried out, standing back up as she did. "I'm not her, I don't want to be her, I'll _never_ be her! The only thing in common between us is our soul, that's _it_! I refuse to have any more to do with _her_!" She yelled.

Chire'ni's teeth clenched, "Alright, you can just keep deluding yourself with that if you want. It isn't going to make any difference because you die here, once and for all, Avelona." She hissed.

"Bring it on." Raven challenged, her eyes glowing with white energy as she summoned her magic. "_Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos_!" She chanted, unleashing a powerful force at Chire'ni.

"**Mana Shield**!" She defended, forcing the attack to part and move away from her, knocking over a few shelves and causing several chemicals to combine on the floor. The dark elf charged, her movements swift and inhumanly graceful. She slashed at Raven with her dagger, but Raven pulled up her own shield and flew out of the way before Chire'ni could do anything to get past it.

Raven landed on the alter in the middle of the room, but jumped right back off as Chire'ni shouted, "**Mana Arrow**!" Shooting a blast of powerful energy at her. She landed again, this time with her back to the door, but she wasn't about to run through it.

"_Sanguineus Factus Spiritus, Factus Cendere_!" Raven cried, sending a torrent of flames towards her enemy. Chire'ni tried to pull up a shield again, but it didn't work very well this time. She cried out as shoots of the flames hit her, and was thrown back by the force all the way into the other wall.

"**Power of mana, I bid thee come! Grant your power unto my blade so that I may vanquish this evil.**" Chire'ni chanted, raising her dagger to the ceiling.

"_Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos_!" Raven cried, putting all her force into creating a barrier in front of her, but something told her it wasn't going to be enough.

"**Give me the power that rises from the shell of darkness to shatter malevolence!**"

"RAVEN!" A voice suddenly cried from behind. Raven turned her head, and her heart stopped. Malchior pushed himself directly in front of her, prepared to take the blast himself.

"You wish to die with her? So be it!" Chire'ni hissed, her blade was glowing violet and red, brimming with a power that shook the room and could no doubt defeat a dragon."**Virtual Star Embryology!**"

"NO!" A voice screamed.

The spell was released, full force towards them. It filled the room with a blinding light, but Raven couldn't look away, her eyes were glued to what was happening in front of her, only vaguely aware that Rorek had pulled her into his arms and was also shielding her with his body.

Surely, it might have killed them all, or at least severely hurt them far beyond being able to defend themselves. But it didn't. Raven felt nothing, Rorek was unharmed, and so was Malchior.

But Zacroma lay on the floor, several limbs bent in the wrong direction, blood gushing from huge cuts as well as parts where both skin and muscle had been torn to ribbons. She wasn't moving.

Malchior fell down and picked her up, "What the f# was that!" He demanded, a note of panic in his voice, "Wh-why'd you do that you idiot? I could have, I could have handled that blast on my own!" He yelled.

Zacroma looked up at him, her eyes blurry and brimming with tears, "No, you couldn't have." She whispered, "You would have died too."

"But why, _why_!" He exclaimed.

She was whispering so quietly, only he could hear her. She said something, and then her head lolled to the side and her eyes closed. Malchior stared at her, his eyes wide with terror.

"ZACROMA!" Raven suddenly screamed, the next moment kneeling over the girl as well. She began using her own nails and teeth to open up a wound in her skin in desperation. The next moment, she transformed, and almost instantly began lapping up the blood so that she could use it to heal the body in front of her.

Halfway into the process, she was already starting to pant and sweat, but she refused to give up. If Zacroma could hold on a little bit longer…

Malchior thrust his wrist in front of her and she instantly bit down gratefully. She could feel his power giving her more strength to continue, she was almost done. She drank a little more from Malchior than she really meant to, but it was necessary. After finishing with Zacroma's body, praying that it would start to breath, she needed it in order to round upon Chire'ni.

"**You!"** She raged stalking towards the black-skinned woman, who had collapsed in exhaustion and was having to use the alter for support. **"How dare you! This fight is between you and me, you have no right to hurt my friends!"** She shrieked.

"I-I didn't mean t-to!" She exclaimed, staring up at Raven with a familiar look of fear in her eyes.

"**Shut up!"** She roared, **"You didn't care! As long as you got what you wanted it didn't matter who got in the way! You're only saying that because Zacroma directed the entire force of the spell onto her and therefore didn't even scratch the rest of us! You disgusting piece of filth, you claim that I'm the monster here, well from our point of view _you're_ the one who's the monster!"** Raven cried, advancing on the woman, but suddenly finding herself being held back by none other than Rorek. **"What are you doing!"** She demanded.

"Raven, don't kill her, please." He said.

"**WHAT!"**

"Listen, she has nothing to do with the Blood Clan, and she's probably the last of her race as well. I don't understand all of this, but I know that if you kill her now you'll only be sinking to her level. She isn't an evil creature, so there are other ways of solving this. You'll regret it once you've transformed back, trust me!" He pleaded.

"**How can you say that!"** Raven hissed, **"She tried to kill us all and almost succeeded in killing Zacroma!"** She yelled

"Raven, let it go! Look, Zacroma needs to get back to the Tower _now_, and Malchior as well. We can sort this out later." Rorek said, turning her around so he could face her.

Raven looked behind him, Malchior was panting heavily, watching but unable to get up from his kneeling position. Zacroma was laying down in front of him, very pale, but breathing. She turned back to Chire'ni, who was pulling herself back onto her feet, staring at them all apprehensively. She tried to look Raven squarely in the eye, but was unable to keep the fear inside from showing. Raven glared at her, **"If she dies, so do you."** She snarled.

"This isn't over." The woman said evenly.

"**No, it isn't."** Answered Raven as she walked back over to the other two. She gathered Zacroma into her arms, giving the girl the last of her strength before she had to transform back, and let Rorek teleport them all back to the Tower.

XD

It took a long time for the Tower to settle down, not that Raven was awake for most of the chaos that must have ensued. It was Rorek who had to contact the other Titans (who'd been running around Valley Park frantically trying to find them all), and it was he who had to handle what little of an explanation he could give as Malchior had been in no condition to do much more than sit there and watch, Zacroma was just recovering from a near-death experience, and Raven had no strength left to even be conscious.

When she awoke, however, it was rather quiet, though it felt as though it shouldn't be. She seemed to remember hearing a drone of loud panicky voices for a while, but now they were gone, or still. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw, turning her head over to a sideways angle, her friends gathered around the living room, all looking grim and, a few of them, scared. Robin was the first to notice she was awake, and at first it seemed the drone was about to come back, "Raven! What ha—"

"**Shut up**." Malchior's voice boomed, loudly and forcefully, yet quiet at the same time somehow. Raven could feel his hand stroking her head gently, and gradually came to realize she had been sleeping with her head on his lap, and someone else, Rorek, had the rest of her torso on his lap and was holding her hands in his.

"What…happened?" She asked, having to maneuver a bit in order to get up off the two of them. Thankfully Rorek was able to help her. "Never mind, don't answer that." She said, before either of them could respond.

"Raven…do _you_ know what happened?" Asked Robin.

Raven hunched over, resting her head against her hands which were propped up on her knees. "Yes." She answered. "We've been wrong, this entire time. We were wrong about the diary entries, wrong about Avelona, and wrong about Judora."

"What! How, I mean, what brought this, how do you know?" Rorek stammered.

"Who was that drow, and what connection did she have to you?" Malchior smoothed.

"Drow?" Nearly everyone questioned.

"Uh, what's a 'drow'?" Asked Beast Boy.

"Wait! Where's Zacroma, is she alright!" Raven asked, suddenly realizing that she wasn't in the room.

"She should be just fine, we took her up to her room and Malchior was able to get a potion down her throat, so she's alright." Robin said. "Now, again, what's a drow?"

"Well, they're not exactly the most…known of races. For starters, they're the descendants of dark elves who became a society and race all their own. During a period of the world's near-destruction, (one of them anyways, there were several) the Dark Elves retreated from the surface and made their home underground, where they became an entirely new culture and society. Their bodies adapted to the living conditions, turning their skin from dark to coal black and their hair from normal to white. To those who knew about them, they weren't the most…popular of races. Violent by nature, and with a rather cruel social ladder, they took anyone who wandered into their society and made them into a slave. They didn't like many other races much, especially their cousins the elves. I'm not entirely certain how it happened, but they obtained their own goddess as well, I think her name was Lolth, yeah, that was it. Also, their culture was a strict matriarchy, as in the females were in charge and the males were just there to look pretty. Or at least, that's how it was in some circles, others I think they allowed the male a chance to prove himself, but you never had a clan leader that was male. This didn't give them very good relations with a lot of other races as, obviously, the predominant one, human, has a completely switched view of the gender thing." Malchior explained. "Now, for my question." He turned back to Raven.

Raven took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly, not looking at Malchior, or anyone for that matter. How was she suppose to tell them? _Could_ she tell them? She knew she had to, it was vital information but…what would happen afterwards? What would they think of her? She didn't know, she didn't even know what _she_ thought of her. It was easy enough to shout out that she wasn't Avelona, it was a completely different matter to believe it. It was odd, she never really thought of herself as Avelona, but during that time she didn't really think it was bad. Then she had thought Avelona was some great champion of good. She didn't mind that, she didn't mind it at all, in fact she almost felt proud of it in some strange, twisted way. But now…she didn't know what to think.

"Raven?" Robin's voice asked with concern, just as Rorek put his hand on her shoulder.

Raven looked up, they were all staring at her with worried looks, but Rorek had an expression of understanding in it. "Raven, whatever it is, whatever happened between you and that drow, and whatever you say, it changes nothing. _Especially_ if it has something to do with Avelona. We're not going to think any differently of you just because of _her_." He told her plainly.

"Yeah, Rae, I mean, what do we care if there was something wrong that happened in the past? You're Raven, not Avelona." Cyborg interjected, arousing a murmur of agreement.

Raven took another deep breath, found the words, and began, "For starters, Judora was _not_ the adopted sister in the diary entries, it was Avelona." She said.

"What!" They exclaimed.

"But I thought Avelona—" Rorek started, but Raven raised her hand for silence.

"That drow, her name is Chire'ni, also known as Shenira." She told them.

"Spider lady?" Beast Boy goggled.

"Yes. Those entries, they were _hers_, those things she said were her words, about _Avelona_. It was _Avelona_ who was constantly trying to win _her_ kinship. It was she who…who killed Avelona." She said, her hand coming to her stomach on instinct. "The knife, the pain, it was Avelona's pain all along, it was her emotions coursing through me during those nightmares, not Judora's. And it was Chire'ni's doing, she's the one with the blue, green-rimmed eyes." She said.

"Drow eyes." Malchior murmured. "Usually drows have both their pupils and their irises different colors like blue, purple, green, and even yellow sometimes." He mused.

"O-okay so, so…so Avelona's the one who…had all the demons?" Asked Beast Boy nervously.

Raven nodded, "And Chire'ni was the one who hated demons above all." She said.

"But wasn't Avelona the one who fought to destroy demons?" Asked Robin.

"She probably did that out of hatred for the ones that possessed her. You'd think being mentally tortured by demons, one would learn to hate them with a passion." Rorek answered.

But Raven shook her head and sighed, "I don't know…something…something tells me that, maybe, maybe Avelona…wasn't as good as we thought she was. Maybe it's just the things she was famous for, were things she did, to cover up…" She trailed, remembering Chire'ni's accusing eyes, remembering her words. She'd killed Chire'ni's aunt. She'd been in need of blood from the beginning. Had she secretly been taking lives beneath the mask of some holy woman? Doubts began to plague her mind once again.

"Raven? What…what do you mean?" Asked Rorek.

"Avelona…was the White Magus." She choked, her head bowed and her eyes shaded by her hair. "Avelona had been possessed by demons, she was insane at the beginning, and had only regained her sanity once she had utterly eradicated an army come to destroy the sanctuary Chire'ni lived in. She'd needed to drink blood before then, what if she was unable to stop? What if she'd gone to the surface in order to get more blood?" She asked.

"Raven, why, why do you think that?" Malchior asked carefully.

"Because…She said…she said that I, no, that Avelona, that she _killed_ someone, she killed Chire'ni's aunt, and even though there were marks on the body that matched the one's Avelona's teeth made, it seemed only she knew it was her, Avelona. What if Avelona used the whole demon-slayer thing as a cover up for her own demonic activities, what if she'd just—"

"Even if she had," Malchior interrupted, so forcefully Raven had to look up at him, "It would not have been her fault. Being possessed by one demon is enough to drive anyone insane, but being constantly possessed by several, and still hold on to sanity is a feat that, it seems, only Avelona was able to accomplish. If she had done any more blood-sucking, it was during a period in which she was unable to suppress herself." He said, looking at Raven with a stubborn expression. Raven's insides swelled with a feeling of immense gratitude.

Rorek nodded his agreement, "If you're going by Chire'ni's assumptions, it's probably not very accurate. She sounds like she would have suspected Avelona of demonic activities, even if her aunt _hadn't_ been bitten. And also, it could very well have been another demon too, so who's to say it was really Avelona at all? That woman's obsessed with complete purity, she'd see any little slipup as an excuse not to trust Avelona." He said.

"Okay, back up a bit, I am _confused_." Beast Boy said.

"So what else is new?" Malchior snorted.

Beast Boy glared at him, "_No_, I mean to say, isn't Chire'ni a _drow_? And aren't drows, I dunno, _evil_ themselves? I mean, if they came from dark elves and just sort of became worse as I understand," He asked.

"Even a dark race like the drow had their own semblance of holiness. Just because they have different views about certain things, well, like the value of life for instance, doesn't make them exactly _evil_. Chire'ni's actually an example of the rare occasion when a drow child is able to keep a semblance of innocence. She was able to keep the mentality that, so long as Raven died, it didn't matter who died with her, up until the part where Zacroma almost got killed. I don't think she really meant for anyone but Raven to get hurt, and looked positively terrified when Raven was about to kill her for it. The drow are a proud race, most wouldn't have shown an ounce of fear towards Raven, even though they knew she was about to kill them. They'd have continued throwing insults and scathing remarks, especially after Rorek convinced Raven not to go through with it. To me, it seemed as though Chire'ni, though she's over 1,000 years old, is still a child, lacking the drow's version of a 'proper' upbringing." Malchior explained.

"Okay, so she's a religious nut, and yet she wasn't exactly brought up the right way. How's that suppose to work if, logically, she wouldn't have been taught religion in the first place!" Cyborg demanded.

"She still had her mother, remember." Raven said, "The one who adopted Avelona. She probably wasn't the typical drow herself, so she may have only given her daughter a basic background of their culture, and then allowed her to form her own beliefs from that. It would make sense, especially since the place they lived housed people who were unwanted by the surface. Chire'ni's mother wouldn't have the same beliefs as her own mother if she accepted and treated the mentally ill and housed all races."

"Alright, so, she's a little warped herself, why does she want to kill _Raven_ though? I mean, surely she knows Raven's not exactly the same, and besides, she's purified herself!" Beast Boy asked.

"You think it's a _usual_ occurrence for a half-demon to purify themselves? And even if I explained it all to her, you think she'd _listen_? If she refused to have an open mind about Avelona, she's not going to give me any special treatment either. In fact, she'll be _less_ likely to listen _because_ of that." Raven answered.

There was a pause, "Um, can we go back to the, y'know, _evil_ villains now? The ones who _don't_ have relatively sound reasons for their actions?" Cyborg asked.

"Poor Chire'ni! She must be so confused, how may we help her?" Starfire burst out.

"Um, by rubbing in the fact that she almost killed a _half angel_?" Beast Boy suggested.

"Idiot, that wouldn't make any difference. Angel's are the holy messengers of the First God, the one human's worship, or are suppose to anyways. Completely opposing religion. To her, Zacroma would be just another race." Malchior snorted.

"Great, so now what? Do we have another enemy to deal with, or do we try and talk sense into her?" Robin asked.

"Neither sounds very appealing." Rorek said, with a rather pained expression on his face.

"I don't fancy having a drow for an enemy, they can be extremely vicious and cunning at the same time, also powerful. Who knows _what_ she might have up her sleeve. On the other hand, talking sense into her will be like, well, not pulling teeth, exactly, because that's actually possible." Malchior elaborated.

"So what do we do?" Asked Robin, "You all know a lot more about this than we do, should we take a course of action or—?"

"Um, there's no _we_ involved in this." Raven imputed, "It's bad enough that you guys had to be drawn into the whole thing with Judora, but Chire'ni isn't as powerful, in spite of that stunt she pulled and somehow managed to call forth the power of her goddess, doubt she'll be able to do that again for a few weeks, nor as problematic, as Judora, so you guys need to stay out of it. Had that been anyone but Zacroma, there _would_ have been a death. Now that I know Chire'ni is able to use a spell that powerful, I'll know not to hold back next time, and I won't give her the chance to use it again." She said with a slight glower.

"I guess the reason you hadn't defeated her already was because you were trying to make her see reason?" Robin questioned.

"For a while, and then during the battle I couldn't bring myself to really hurt her. I don't know why, frankly it seems stupid and completely irrational, but for some reason Avelona loved Chire'ni, a lot, and even after Chire'ni betrayed and killed her, she, I, have still been holding on to that emotion. But she went too far, and I'm _not_ going to make the same mistake again." Raven told them.

Robin held her eyes for a moment, and she could tell he was doing some serious thinking, but then he sighed, "Alright, this is your business, we have no input on how you chose to handle it. But you do know that you can count on us for help if you need it, alright?" He asked.

Raven nodded, giving him a grateful smile, "Alright." She said.

"Well," Robin looked over at Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg, "Um, we're going to go check on Zacroma." He said, getting up to leave. Beast Boy got up swiftly and practically lead the way.

"We are?" Asked Cyborg.

"Yes, come." Starfire answered, ushering him towards the door.

The three watched them disappear, and then Malchior said, "Wow, that was discrete."

Raven blinked, and looked at him, suddenly realizing that he was now on the other side of _her_ instead of Rorek. "How did you—?"

"It's real easy to teleport when it's a short distance and you can see where you're going." He answered. He then sighed, "I guess this is when we talk about the whole 'White Magus' thing." He muttered. Raven lowered her head. "And how this entire thing's a piece of crap." Raven looked up.

"Avona." Rorek suddenly said, "That was her name, the name she gave us at first, but we kept using it even after she revealed her 'real' name. That's whey 'Avelona' wasn't a familiar name."

"We only thought Judora might have been her, because she called herself the _Black_ Magus, now I think it was just her way of trying to get on Avona's nerves." Malchior added.

"So, Judora was the rival, but…what happened?" Raven asked. "Why did I—did _she_…separate you?" She asked.

"Judora said she had warped our minds once, well, it would make sense. You see, dragons are completely monogamous, only _one_ mate at a time, and that's it. No ifs ands or buts, dragon males especially. If we have a woman that we're in love with, all other females become as meaningless as though they were males. If we were in love with you, er, Avona, the only way Judora could have even got us to _look_ at her would be to put some powerful mind spell on us." Malchior explained.

"But, why _separate_ you? Why not do something else like kill you or something?" Raven asked.

"What, do you think so lowly of her now that you think she didn't really love us back?" Rorek questioned, "She might not have been very loving,"

"Or any fun in bed for that matter." SMACK! "Okay yeah, I deserved that one."

"_Back on the subject_," Rorek coughed pointedly, "Anyway, the point is that if she didn't love us back, we wouldn't have been able to continue loving her."

"Another dragon thing I guess?" Raven asked.

"Yes. We can't have one-sided relationships, not for long anyway. But in separating us, well, it was an excellent way to get revenge." He answered.

"Also, she might have found that one of us loved her still." Malchior added.

"Or Judora was still in control of us and she left us as our weaker selves." Rorek pointed out.

"And that…might have been when she went back to the underground society, in a vulnerable state, and why…why she didn't even defend herself as Chire'ni killed her. She'd lost all will to live, and Chire'ni's betrayal was the last straw." Raven said, sighing.

"But, initially, we could have had a nice, quiet life together if Judora hadn't reared her ugly face." Rorek muttered, slipping his arm around her shoulders. Noticing this, Malchior wrapped his own arm around her waist.

"Wait, Judora!" Raven exclaimed, "If she's not, if she's not the adopted sister in this, who is she? And why did she say she was like family to me!"

They both seemed to jerk into a realization, "Yeah, we over looked that because, because we thought _Judora_ was the one who kept trying to get _Avelona_ to love her, but she had nothing to do with all that." Rorek said.

"And she said she didn't hate Avelona so…well, if she didn't hate her, why the h# did she practically ruin our lives!" Malchior demanded.

"Maybe she was jealous and wanted you for herself?" Raven suggested. "But then…even if that were true, why would so do that to 'familly' if she doesn't hate Avelona?"

"Well, let's remember that she _is_ tainted, and was probably warped to begin with. Also, we don't know _where_ Avelona came from, and you probably won't have any memories before she, well, regained sanity. It's likely that Judora _was_ Avelona's sibling, but in blood. Only somehow she knew and Avelona didn't, or maybe she did and didn't care because, so far as she was concerned, _Chire'ni_ was her sister. That might have made Judora a little bitter to begin with, and since she was, most likely, neither completely human nor sane, a family tie would be something to hang over Avelona's head." Malchior added.

"So she didn't hate Avelona, but, well, we know how she is _now_." Raven muttered.

"Exactly." Rorek agreed.

Raven let out a sigh and slumped against the back of the couch, "Having to deal with the two of you was bad enough already, who's bright idea was it to add in an entire past life and a couple of villains tied to it?" She asked. (A/N: Uuuuuuh…Hitler! Yeah, it's all Hitler's fault, blame him!)

"I'm sorry Rorek can be so frustrating at times, but there's nothing I can do." Malchior said complacently.

Raven sweatdropped and Rorek glared at him, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a retort." He said.

"Ah, but you just di—oh wait, that was a response, not a retort, darn you." Malchor grumbled.

"I think it's about time to go to bed." Raven said, getting up and stretching.

"Good idea! Let's go." Malchior said, slipping his hand back around her waist as he got up as well.

"In _separate_ beds." She said irritably.

"Oh but what's the fun in that?" He asked seductively, nibbling on her ear a bit. Raven was about to sucker punch him when, BAM! Rorek got to him first.

"Back off! _I'm_ going to be in Raven's room _this_ time." He exclaimed. Raven stared, her eyes wide.

"You've had her several times, it's my turn!" Malchior responded, coming back at Rorek with a punch of his own, which he dodged.

"Since when did you care about 'turns'!" Rorek demanded, lunging at his darker half.

"Since I wasn't gett'n any!" He answered as they started to brawl on the floor.

"Okay, right now neither of you are getting _anything_ because I'm tired and I want to go to bed, _without_ there being someone else occupying it as well. So stop fighting, this is ridiculous!" Raven exclaimed.

They stopped, looking guilty, and stood up. "Er, right, sorry. I'll just go on to bed too." Rorek said, walking over to the door.

"_Thank you_." Raven huffed following him, Malchior coming behind her.

But there was something in the back of her mind, something nagging at her for some reason, though it didn't exactly seem important…but then… "Hey, Malchior?" She said, turning around suddenly.

"Yes?" He asked, blinking.

"Did Zacroma…well, when she passed out, what did Zacroma say? I couldn't exactly hear it, was it, important?" Raven asked, feeling a bit worried.

Malchior blinked, "Oh," He said, shifting a bit uncomfortably, "No she said…she said 'goodbye'." He answered, looking somewhat, almost, scared.

"Oh. So she…didn't expect, to live I guess…" Raven looked down, bitting her lip. "Okay, well goodnight." She said, going on.

"No, Raven wait!" Malchior said, stopping her. "I'm sorry, but she…she said," He bit his lip, then gave her a frighteningly helpless look, forcing the words out, "She said, 'I love you.'"

XP

A/N: Okay whoa, I don't think even _I_ saw _that_ one coming (mutters something about the characters running away with her). I dunno, cliffhangers just seem like the appropriate places to leave chapters, so you guys keep coming back for more, haha!

I'm InTeReStInG: So, no pressure huh? Heheheh, um, I did kinda read one of your stories, but I just didn't have time to read more than one chapter. Your style reminds me of how mine was a while back, ahhhh, that brings back so many memories, most of which involve my character aggravating a hot bishi to no end…er, okay I'll stop there.

FlameTalon: Thanks a lot! My dream is to become an author one day, but my problem is actually finishing a story. However I think that once I've finished this (and I _will_ finish it or else), I'll have some experience and might actually get there. As for my writing, lots of essay writing classes and reading books while studying the author's writing style helps. Aspiring to a certain level as well, I'm currently shooting for J.K. Rowling because she is the _goddess_ of the writing world. An impossible goal, I know, but certainly one worth aiming for.

Pandora Kattalikis: Hm? Looks like you got confused, Chire'ni's a completely different person apart from Judora, as you have discovered. A new character, who's a little confused. So yeah.

Bb fan: (Heheh, your funny) You have a problem with my writing style? (Evil grin as Spellbinder/fire fans begin to glare maliciously), And yes, eventually the cliffhangers will stop, because the story will come to a nice close, EVENTUALLY! I'm getting to it okay! There's still a lot of loose ends to tie up, if you haven't already noticed. So yeah, have fun on the flagpole, lol!

Troubled-ego: Sorry the battle wasn't too big of one, but I just don't have the ability to write out long drawn out fighting scenes, it irritates me to no end, and yes there should be action, but not so much you get bored. You can't do that in writing, you have to smooth it all out enough that you're fighting, but it's still interesting until the end. Long drawn out battles make people yawn when it's in writing and not on TV. But don't worry, the final battle with Judora will be _very_ big, _and_ interesting. Heheh.

Welp, that's about all I have to say. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews you guys! You're really helping me along here, it's great! I LOVE YOU GUYS! Ja ne

PS: I get all my info on drow from here: an online manga, but they're so big and popular, I'm thinking most of their interperitationsare probably correct. I also got a little off the Forgotten Realms series, so yeah, if you were wondering...


	20. Angel's Heartache

A/N: Uuuuuuh, darn, can't think of anything to put here. Oh well.

XD

"What the h# am I suppose to _do_! Yes I love her too, but in the 'little sister I never had' way, and she _knows_ this, she has to. But, ye gods, I don't want to hurt her! Yet it seems no matter what I do from here that's exactly what's going to happen!" Malchior exclaimed, pacing back and forth restlessly in Raven's room.

"Malchior, I think she's been hurting for a long time already…" Raven sighed, looking down at her hands, "And I can't believe I never saw it. So much stuff, it's like I've been losing my empathic abilities." She said.

"Or have unconsciously learned to shut it off when you don't want it." Malchior muttered automatically. "But what if she's been somehow hoping that I've secretly fallen in love with her as well or something! That maybe Rorek and I will stay separate for some reason and we'll just all pair up nicely like in some cartoon!" He demanded, "Even when facts and logic tell her that it isn't going to happen!"

"It's not like she can help it, she has enough human in her to get caught up in that kind of thinking, it isn't really her fault." Raven pointed out.

"But why _me_, I mean, Rorek I could understand! He'd be more the kind of guy that she would go for, but _me_!" He exclaimed, pulling on his hair.

"Actually, no, most human females, especially the hip and eccentric ones, initially 'go for' the bad boy attitude, and when they're really a sweet person at heart it just cements the entire thing." Raven pointed out.

"Stop ruining my rant, I didn't even get my bit in about fate being a b yet. Seriously though, what do I do?" He asked.

"The only thing you _can_ do, just sit down and get everything out." Raven answered.

Malchior sighed heavily, running his fingers in his hair and massaging his head, "Alright, but, could you—"

"_Alone_, and with me being _the_ _last_ person you want in the room, or anywhere close for that matter." Raven interrupted.

"Okay yeah, stupid question. But _when_?"

"As soon as possible."

"Where?"

"Wherever you won't be overheard or walked in on." She answered, "And no stalling either, this isn't something you can let sit or it'll fester."

"Yes, I know, I know I just…I've never _been_ in this situation before! From the little bits and pieces I remember, you were the only _true_ love I ever had, the other women were inadequately filling the gap, and what few 'other women' there _were_ turned out to be sluts from the high class society." He said, rubbing his temples, "No one fell in love with _me_, I was interesting, frightening, or strange. It was that way everywhere I went. Even with Avona, _you_, I had to work hard and _earn_ your love, both times. And I think I _prefer_ it that way. And yes, I _know_ I've just earned my death several times in the last minute, but you're the only one I can talk to about this."

"It's okay." Raven told him, wrapping her arms around his waist for comfort, "I understand." She told him.

Malchior sighed, wrapping his own arms tightly around her form and resting his chin on her head, "Thank the gods for that." He said, closing his eyes so that he could release all his worries and just focus on enjoying the moment, standing there and holding her. Nothing in the world to worry about…

_Yeah right_.

XD

It was noon of the next day before Zacroma woke up, and when she did it was with a splitting headache. "Ugh, did anyone get the license plate number of that 2-by-4?" She muttered warily, causing the concerned faces above her to break into grins. "How long have I been out?" She asked.

"Through the rest of the night and on until noon. You've missed a lot, but we'll brief you on what's been going on." Robin answered.

"And by 'we' he means Raven of course." Beast Boy injected.

"Gee, thanks." Raven muttered.

Zacroma was given a hot cup of Rorek's special potion empowered tea, a lot of fruits and a nutrition potion for breakfast, and sat propped up as Raven went through the entire explanation thing again. Half way through it most people left to take care of other things, then, after seeing Zacroma would be taken care of, the rest did too. So when Raven finished telling Zacroma their assumptions, they were alone.

So far, Zacroma had just been eating the fruit and listening without interrupting, she did ask a few questions, just some details that needed to be cleared up (though she seemed to know a lot about drow already), but overall Raven was able to go through it pretty quickly.

Zacroma heaved a sigh, "So that explains why you've been feeling the pain, and what those blue, green-rimmed eyes are. But something I don't get, if Chire'ni's eyes were the judgmental and fearful ones, the young ones, what about that other pair of eyes? The ones that were kind and caring?" She asked.

Raven blinked and thought, "Those, well, they're probably Chire'ni's mother I'd think, because she adopted Avelona and treated her like a daughter. It'd make sense for Chire'ni to have the same eyes as her mother." She said.

"What about Chire'ni's aunt, could there be something off about her death? I mean, you'd think you would be having dreams about _that_ if it were really you who killed her." Zacroma questioned.

"I know, but maybe it wasn't Avelona, maybe it was another demon and Chire'ni is just too narrow minded to think of that." Raven offered.

"It sounds to me like this girl was obsessed, and there's probably a lot more to it than just being a religious freak. You think she became resentful because Avelona sort of took her mother's attention away from her?"

"That's possible, and the fact that she was scared of Avelona wouldn't have helped. The demon thing probably justified her reasons for hatred in her mind." Raven sighed. "I'd still like to know why Avelona seemed obsessed with being her sister, she's an arrogant, close-minded, self-righteous little brat."

Zacroma shrugged, "Well, maybe it was a little more than just that." She said. Raven stared at her, eyes wide, "Well, y'know from what I remember of drow culture, now that I think about it, they were pretty much bisexual. Being fully homosexual or heterosexual was considered odd." She explained. (A/N: Just for the record, I do _not_ agree with homo/bisexuality, but it _happens_, and from what _I_ understand, drow _are_ bisexual and you can't just ignore this sort of thing completely.)

"That doesn't mean _Avelona_ was bisexual." Raven pointed out swiftly.

"She was raised by a drow. She might not have been that way, but as far as she probably knew there would be nothing wrong with it." Zacroma said.

"But that would have been _incest_," Raven started again.

"So? What, you think most drow would have a problem with_ that_ either? This isn't exactly a very moral race. Besides, being _adopted_ and all, that point could have been argued."

"So you think Avelona _fell in love_ with Chire'ni?" Raven asked, utterly disgusted.

"Probably not, but I think there might have been a _little_ going on there. It isn't impossible. Also, drow have very strong family ties, well, females anyway. They focused a lot of attention on their children, but the sires of their children, while maybe given a higher standing, were often ignored, even by the daughters, and were their father only in name. Avelona might have absorbed this through her upbringing and felt that, as sisters, she and Chire'ni should be close somehow. However, I don't think _siblings_ were very close in that culture, not typically anyway. They often warred for supremacy in their mother's eyes." Zacroma explained.

"So we had a clash of views here, but if Chire'ni was never given a 'proper' upbringing, and her mother was definitely an exception to the general rule, how would she obtain that sort of sub-conscious mentality?"

"Well, the culture had to come somewhere, it's probably natural, like how human children often fight with each other. Avelona wasn't exactly a normal child according to Chire'ni, she sounds like she was far more mature than was really good for her at a young age. So this could have happened even if Chire'ni _wasn't_ drow." She answered.

"I suppose that makes sense. Oh, you done? Do you want me to get you more tea or what?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, more tea sounds nice." Zacroma agreed, draining the last that was in her cup and handing it to Raven, who just set it down on the side.

"I'll just get the whole pitcher and bring it up here." Raven told her, getting up.

"Thanks." Zacroma said as she left the room.

Raven closed the door behind her, and then suddenly noticed Malchior had been waiting in the hall the entire time. "You two talk too much." He muttered, though Raven could tell he had been grateful for the delay.

Raven sighed, "Good luck." She said, he muttered a 'thanks', and then walked in the door as Raven went down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Hey, everything good?" Beast Boy asked when she came in.

"Yeah, just getting Zacroma more tea, she probably needs to rest a bit though, but she should be fine by tomorrow." Raven answered.

"That's good. Don't bother, I'll take it to her." Beast Boy offered, about to grab the pitcher himself, but Raven got it before he did.

"Zacroma needs to _rest_, not get excited and start laughing while you do ridiculous impressions." Raven told him.

"I _won't_!" He defended, "I'll just give her the tea."

"Riiiight, you stay right here." She ordered.

"Awwwww." He wined. "Can I come if you, I dunno, make sure I don't get out of hand or something?" he asked.

_And I missed this **how**?_ Raven asked herself sweatdropping. "Beast Boy, stay here." She told him with a look. She then turned to go back upstairs.

"She's talking to Malchior now, isn't she?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven stopped and turned to stare at him. He was slumped on the table, suddenly sulky. "Beast Boy you…know?" She asked cautiously. He looked at her through one eye and nodded.

XD

The pause seemed to stretch out over the room like a sort of fog, the silence was pressing, he could hear the wind outside her window, the hum of the lights that illuminated her extremely colorful room. To say this was an uncomfortable situation, would have been a ridiculous understatement.

They didn't look at each other, and he just came in, closing the door behind him, and walking over to the chair set up beside her table. He'd rehearsed what he was going to say during the time she and Raven had been talking, he'd gone over every possible response she might have, the worse-case scenarios anyway, so that he might be prepared. This didn't mean he knew what he would do if they happened, but at least he'd see them coming ahead of time and might somehow be able to plan a course of action. He'd gone over the fine points he was going to make, he'd thought over and over about how he might smooth it all out, admitting that he loved her like a little sister, while it was going to take a lot to get out, was probably something she needed to hear.

But now that he was there, sitting beside her, neither of them looking at each other, the words were stuck in his throat, and his mind was drawing a complete and utter blank. And it was Zacroma who broke the silence.

"Malchior, about, about what I said last night, I know what you must be thinking but, it's not like that. Really." She began, he looked up. Her expression was a mixture of things, but she seemed calm, just awkward. "When I, when I said 'I love you', I meant, as a friend…or rather…well….like family." She said, running her fingers through her ice blue hair. "I'm sorry if that caused a lot of confusion but, well, I was kind of in a rather _out of it_ state, I mean I was this close to death and all." She laughed.

"Oh," Malchior said, perking up slightly. "Oh, so, so I've been stressing myself out over nothing? Well, that's certainly convenient, guess I'm feeling a little silly now. So that's all cleared up, we can go back to the way things were now. No awkward feelings or uncomfortable instances, just going about our day way we would anyways without giving this entire thing a second thought, right?" He asked pleasantly. He looked up and saw Zacroma's smile was fading, and she was giving him a rather confused look, "No." He stopped flatly, staring her hard in the eyes, "You're a good actress, and therefore a good liar, _most_ of the time. But you cannot expect me to believe that when you didn't immediately clear it all up the moment I walked in. What's the point of feeling awkward if it really wasn't something that serious?" He asked.

Caught, Zacroma dropped the act and averted her eyes, "I know what you're going to say," She began.

"No, you don't, because I am perfectly aware that you know the…details, of this entire thing. You know that I love Raven, and that my loyalty to her is as strong as it can be. You know that someday, probably much sooner than we had expected, Rorek and I will be one again and I will, virtually, be gone. So I'm just going to skip all of that. But what I want to be sure you know, what I am going to tell you and will forcibly deny ever saying later, is that you are still very special to me." He told her flat out.

Zacroma's head jerked up, and she stared at him, her eyes wide, "W-what, really?" She asked.

"Gods, you're like the little sister I never had and never knew I _wanted_. And it's not just me, Rorek feels the same way to a certain extent. You are like family to us, and that's why I don't want to see you hurting any more than you obviously have been." He said.

Zacroma's eyes lowered again, "I, I'm sorry I just, it's not like I _meant_ to, I…I tried so hard not to but, and Raven, I'd _never_ do anything to hurt her or, or—"

"Few people are actually able to chose who they fall in love with." Malchior interrupted. "And Raven doesn't think any less of you because of it, she _completely_ understands." He said.

The girl paled, "Y-you told her?" She asked.

"After the _last_ time we kept a little secret from her, are you kidding?" He asked, causing her to smile in spite of herself.

"And she, she wasn't…mad?"

"Didn't you hear what I said? She _understands_, she isn't going to get mad at you for this, actually she was more worried about you than anything else. She pretty much told me, up front, that I had to come and speak with you alone. The point is that we can't just sit back and let this blow over, because it won't, and even if it does there is still going to be that air of unfinished business hanging about in the back of our minds." He said.

She let out a slow breath and looked down at her hands, not sure what to say, he suspected. Malchior took a deep breath, remembering something else he wanted to point out, and began again, "Listen, even if we weren't in this situation, I would still tell you that it wouldn't work out. I'm just not the right person for you. You need someone who'll coincide with that free spirit of yours, someone who will not only appreciate your quirks, style switches, and wild behavior, but will join you. Does that make sense?" He asked.

"I…I guess…" She answered.

"A good part of having a real relationship is being able to enjoy the same activities in a similar manner. See, while you were taking over the dance floor in that Cybiria place, someone like me would just sit back and marvel at the audacity it must have taken to even _start_. While you would be drawing people to you like flies to a moth, someone like me would be making them shy away or bristle in defense." He elaborated.

Zacroma nodded, "Yeah, I get it, but it's just…I…" She tried desperately to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall down her face. "I'm sorry, I just…"

_Guess I should have known I couldn't avoid this part._ Malchior thought. He put his hand on her shoulder in comfort, and wasn't really surprised when she thrust herself into his arms and began to sob uncontrollably. He gently put his arms around her and patted her one the back, letting her cry it all out.

A minute or so later, she pulled herself back into the bed, wiping her tears out of her eyes. "Thanks." She whispered.

"Heh, what are big brothers for?" He asked, making her laugh. "Uh, by the way, this entire conversation? It never happened." He told her.

"Heheh, what conversation?" She asked, grinning.

"Good girl." He said, ruffling her hair. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks. I think I'll be able to get over it eventually." She said.

"Well, I think I remember hearing that the best way to get over a heartache was to find another guy, only this time, try to make sure he's single first." He told her.

Zacroma grinned at him, almost knowingly, "So, do you have anyone in mind?" She asked.

"I think the word 'duh' applies here." He answered, rolling his eyes.

"Who?" She asked, curiously.

"Are you _thick_?" He demanded, "**Beast Boy**, woman!"

Zacroma started in surprise, "_Beast Boy_?" She exclaimed, "But he—"

"Has been in love with you for a very long time now. Sheesh, I mean Raven's got a lot on her mind nowadays, so her ignorance is understandable. Wonder Boy and Starfire are a bit preoccupied with each other so they may or may not have noticed, but I know Cyborg has, I think he might have confronted Beast Boy and is now fully aware. But you would think with all your social expertise _you'd_ notice." He told her.

"I…really haven't…" She admitted blushing.

"Granted, he's extremely annoying, and if you were my sister by blood I would firmly forbid it out of shame and the fear that he might one day be my _brother-in-law_, but as you're not I'm obliged to care more about your happiness. But the more I think about it, the more it just seems you two would work together. Besides of which, Rorek agrees with me, therefore it is set in stone." He added, causing her to burst out laughing. "Ultimately, however," He added, standing up, "It's your decision. But I think that if there was anyone who could really help you get over this, it's him." He told her, walking to the door. "I'll leave you to rest now." He told her, opening the door.

"Hey, Malchior?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks, really, thanks a lot. Raven's very lucky to have someone like you." She told him.

Malchior smiled, "I like to think that I'm the lucky one." He told her.

XD

"I guess I was the first one to notice, though. Well, first time for everything." Beast Boy grumbled miserably.

Raven sighed and sat down next to him. "Yeah, you were. Not even I knew, in fact I didn't even know that _you_ liked _her_ until Malchior pointed it out." She said.

"What, Malchior knew!" Beast Boy asked defensively.

"Calm down, it's not like he made fun of you or anything. You know those three guys I gave super powers?" Raven asked.

"Yeah? Why?"

"I confronted them the other day and when they asked if I could arrange for them to meet Zacroma, Malchior pointed out that they'd have to stick to just _talking_ unless they wanted a rampaging rhino out for their blood." She explained.

Beast Boy stared at her, and then started laughing in spite of himself, "He said _that_? That sounds more like something _he_ would do." He said.

"Yeah, it does. All I see you doing is glaring at them from behind Zacroma while she backs away sweatdropping." Raven commented.

But then Beast Boy sighed and let his head rest on his crossed arms again. "So, is Malchior telling her off or what?" He asked. "I thought you'd be the one to do that."

"Beast Boy, if you suddenly have a newfound insight, then use it. Do you honestly think I'd love Malchior if he were really as insufferable as he lets on? He's _talking_ to her. Don't let him know I told you this, but in spite of what he'd like you to believe, he really has grown attached to everyone and he _does_ care. But he's still fighting against the chunk of Rorek that he's absorbed over the last few weeks, so you're not going to see it by just looking at how he acts." She told him.

Beast Boy gaped at her for a moment, "Oh." He said blankly. "So, right now he's…"

"Helping Zacroma get over him, if that's makes sense." She finished.

"Dang, how's he managing _that_ I wonder?" He asked.

"By getting everything out in the open and making sure she knows he _does_ care, but not in that way." Raven answered.

"Aaaaaand, he's just going to _say_ all of this?"

"Beast Boy, how many times will we have to explain to you that Malchior and Rorek are _not_ human? They don't seem to have as much trouble with words as humans sometimes do, neither do they have that much of a problem getting their thoughts across." She told him.

"Yeah, I've noticed they can say just about anything without it seeming rude, or _too_ straightforward. But it's still_ wired_ that he can just go up and talk to her like that." He said, snapping his fingers to press his point.

"Humans often confuse the English language by complicating it, adding rules and such while its original purpose becomes lost. Words obtain hidden meanings, sentences can say one thing while meaning the complete opposite, and expression and tones have become such a fine part of it. Malchior and Rorek, though, aren't bound by these rules, they speak the language as it was suppose to be, and at the same time absorb the additions needed to communicate in such a way that our minds translate it into the words they had originally intended to say." Raven told him.

When she heard no response, Raven turned her head, and wasn't surprised to see Beast Boy's eyes rolling around in their sockets. "Sorry, forgot I was talking to _you_." She muttered with a snigger, which jarred him out of his stupor.

"Hey! I was following…some of it…a little…so they talk easily?"

Raven sighed, "They have a better understanding of the human language than some humans do, it just doesn't seem that way sometimes because humans don't know enough to follow _them_." She summarized.

"Er, right. So, ah…" Beast Boy trailed, "what are _your_ thoughts on the subject? I mean the Zacroma-liking-Malchior-thing." He asked.

"Beast Boy, do I really seem like the kind of person who'd get mad at Zacroma for something like _this_?" Raven asked. "Honestly, I'm more worried about _her_ and what _she's_ been going through this entire time. I can't believe I've been so ignorant!" She huffed, irritated at herself.

Beast Boy sighed again and slumped back onto the table, causing Raven to stare at him, "I guess you wouldn't, you're boyfriends are so loyal to you it's inhuman." He said, a slight smirk creasing his mouth.

Raven blinked, "For the sake of my pride, I'm not going to dignify that with a response. Instead, I'm going to return the conversation back to the more pressing topic and ask how _you_ are feeling about all this." She said.

"I dunno," He mumbled, "I guess I thought…maybe…I dunno." He repeated. "I like how I'm able to do stupid stuff in front of her and not feel embarrassed, I like how she's able to be 'one of the guys' but at the same time preserve her femininity. I can play video games with her, burp the alphabet with her, gobble my food without a hint of table manners with her, I mean I can even crack extremely stupid jokes and she'd laugh_ because_ they were so stupid. I know that's not a _normal_ relationship but, well, normal relationships seem be going out of fashion around here." He said. "At first I thought maybe she might like me too…but I guess she only sees me as a friend, like Cyborg. I guess the only reason I noticed that she _didn't_, and then realized exactly _where_ her affections were being focused, was that I kept trying my hardest to notice any little thing, though I was kind of hopping to see her staring at _me_ when she thought no one was looking instead of _him_." He explained.

"Well, you don't have to give up hope, you know. I mean, no creature, human or otherwise, can stay hopelessly in love with another if that love isn't returned, I don't care how many romance novels think differently, it doesn't happen." She told him.

"That's nice to know, but what if it's _Cyborg_ next time and I stay the 'little brother she never had'?" he asked miserably.

"I don't know. Maybe you need to be more obvious." Raven said.

"Oh and asking her to marry me isn't _obvious_?" He demanded.

"Um, that was a joke, and you know it." She answered.

"I know, I just had to bring that up. So if it doesn't work out and it turns out she _doesn't_ like me in that way and never will, then what?" He asked.

"Then you move on like she hopefully will." Raven answered. "You just—" She stopped as Malchior entered the room, looking calm and collected. "Well?" She asked him.

"I think it'll be okay." He said, and before anyone could respond, he'd come over and picked up the pitcher of tea, and Beast Boy.

"What tha—" Beast Boy stammered.

"Here," Malchior said, pushing him up the stairs with the pitcher in his hands, "Take that to Zacroma while I make out with Raven." He said. Beast Boy vanished the next moment while Raven let her head hit the table.

"Must you be so blunt?" She moaned.

"Hey, it got him to go up there didn't it?" He asked, sitting down in the chair next to Raven, who leaned away from him, giving him the evil eye. "Besides, all this unfavorable business is making me hungry." He said, giving her a sly smile.

"There's some leftover chicken in the refrigerator." She told him flatly.

"Mmm, na, you taste better." He said, bringing his arm around her to keep her from going any farther, and leaning in to start licking her chin and jaw.

"You know, I should just stop you right now out of principal." She grumbled, but he only grunted and continued using his tongue to explore the surfaces of her skin, what he could reach without having to pull down her turtle neck anyway. Raven sighed, and pushed herself back up so she could be in a more comfortable position, but Malchior, obviously encouraged by this, practically grabbed her and had her on his lap before she could protest. The next thing she knew he'd pulled down one side of her sleeve, forcing the neck to stretch to its limits as he always did, and had begun nibbling her neck.

An almost unfamiliar tingle of pleasure was spreading along her neck from the places he'd nibbled and licked. She blinked hard and suppressed a gasp, not use to feeling anything but a reluctant allowance of his small antics to keep him happy. It was odd, and slightly unwelcome, where had this come from?

Raven felt, rather than allowed, her body relax into Malchior as she sighed, only this time it was more contented and sensual. In spite of the mistrust she had of this new feeling, she couldn't help liking it and hoping it might continue.

Malchior didn't disappoint her of course, he let her sleeve slide back up only so he could bring down the other side and begin working it, only now he was blowing raspberries on her skin and then drawing circles with his tongue. This time she couldn't keep herself from gasping. Encouraged, he forced her sleeve down lower and began a relentless assault that just barely grazed her breast, but it was enough. A loud voice in Raven's head seemed to be yelling at her, berating her for letting him get this far, and she pulled him back up to her shoulder. He growled in protest, and for a few moments fought against her, trying to get his tongue in the space between her breasts again it seemed, but there was no way she was going to allow that quite yet, strange new feelings or not.

Eventually he sighed in defeat and let her sleeve go back up all the way, but then his hand slipped to the back of her skull, fingers weaving through her hair, and he brought her face down to his. He began kissing her furiously, pushing in so hard it was almost bruising, but Raven didn't protest to this, instead she found herself pushing right back, her eyelids drooping back down. Malchior drew in a sharp intake of breath through his nose and he seemed to freeze while shivering with pleasure at the same time, as if afraid that if he moved she might stop.

It was probably her own sweat that broke Raven of the near trance-like state she'd found herself in, that and a feeling of unease, of slight _wrongness_ holding her back as though there were something missing. And also, she'd heard her own voice in her head yelling at her and demanding to know what in the _world_ she was doing. What _was_ she doing?

Her heart was beating swiftly, and her breath was coming in pants as well. She'd suddenly found herself on top of Malchior, on the floor, and he was also panting and sweating slightly, looking up at her with an expression of ecstasy, mixed heavily with confusion. "Are you done with me already?" He asked, more than a little disappointed.

Raven frowned and stood up, rubbing her face, "What—" She breathed, still not understanding what had just happened, "What just…happened?" She asked, more herself than Malchior.

"Actually, I don't know." Malchior answered, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Not that I'm complaining but…" He trailed off.

"I don't know what came over me." Raven said, using her cloak to get the sweat off her brow.

Malchior smirked, "Perhaps you are finally giving in to the primal urges I excite in you." He answered.

Raven rolled her eyes at him, "Riiiiight, stop it, this could be serious." She told him standing up, "It felt like I was loosing control over myself, like there was something else being me while I was being…something else." She said.

Malchior got up, frowning slightly, "Well, it could be Dark Raven trying to surface a little inside of you, _or_ it could be your own reaction to a buildup of sexual tension." He said, tapping his chin in thought.

"_What_?"

"Think about it, how many times have I made advances on you and you only protested a little out of principle? Many. And exactly how much actual lust do you display in sequence with mine? Very little. Not to brag, okay yeah, I guess I would be bragging, but still, it's not possible for me to make such advances and a woman, _any_ woman, them _not_ feel at least a _little_ sexual tension or lust. So far you've been bottling it all up because that's just how you operate, so it was bound to come back and bite you someday, if that makes sense." He explained. "But then, it could be a combination of both as well, and Dark Raven's feeling a bit neglected because you refuse to let her have a little fun." He said, smirking slyly again.

Raven sweatdropped, "Okay, so how do we fix it then?" She asked.

"Well, you could always show me a little more love like you just did a few minutes ago more often." He suggested hopefully.

"_Or_ I could just not let you have any." She answered.

"You could," He said, considering as well, "_If_ you want to see a grown dragon beg and weep."

"Is there no low you won't stoop too?" She asked him warily.

"Hey, if it works, I will stoop." He answered.

XP

A/N: Hmmm, could that be considered a cliffie? Doubt it, oh well. And in case a few of you were wondering where Judora is, don't worry, she's still out there, plotting of course. (It takes time to think up elaborate schemes, and even more to fool proof them!) As for Chire'ni, she'll be making another appearance, for those of you who seem to like her, so don't worry. Anyway, on with the reviews!

FlameTalon: Actually I had planned to do that pretty early on. I have this unexplainable fascination with drow, and they're role in the fantasy genre is next to none, far too many people don't even know they exist! Therefore, I must spread the word. Plus I think they're totally awesome. Too bad Chire'ni turned out the way she did, it's really quite sad (sniff). (Yeah, I know it was my fault, but like I said earlier, some of these characters, even the original ones, write themselves out)

Storm Front: SWEET! You know, that's about the hardest temple to beat when it comes to puzzles. (BTW: you get into it by hookshoting that blue diamond above the gate, in case you didn't figure that out already.) I played the Master's Quest, and the Water Temple was, again, probably the hardest temple. _However_, there's one temple I hate more than any other, and that's the Shadow Temple. For one reason, and one reason alone: Bongo Bongo. I cannot _stand_ that boss! So I just get the Lens of Truth and Hover Boots and go beat the Spirit Temple before it, haha! Ahem, anyways, sorry about the cliffies, but as we are soon to be reaching the climax of the story (dunno how soon, but soon), there will be many of those, especially when comes the 'final battle' with Judora. It isn't going to be a bunch of long, drawn out fight scenes, but I have something very…uh, cool, planned for it all. I shall say no more!

Crimsonsun-rk: WTH! THAT WASN'T A SHORT CHAPTER, THAT WAS A LONG CHAPTER COMPARED TO MOST, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SMOKING! Ahem, sorry, I just had to get that out. But yeah, that was one of the longer chapters, SO BACK OFF! Lol, yeah, I dunno, it adds to the drama but I guess it was over with fairly quickly. It does explain why Beast Boy and Zacroma had yet to start making out and stuff, heheh.

Bishquet: Knew it? Knew what? What did you know? What were you able to discern that I was unable to hide from your sharp eyes? I MUST KNOW!

Dark ki: don't worry! It's alright, look, you can keep with the BB/Zacroma scenes if you want, because they will be happening! Sorta, well, maybe, I dunno, not the 'will you marry me' just yet but, yeah. Okay I'm gonna shut up now.

Alright, that's the end of my responses. Also, I am going to be very busy this weekend, so I probably won't be able to get another chapter out until Monday. Sorry guys! But hey, at least I didn't leave you at another unbearable cliffhanger!

Ja ne


	21. Confrontation

A/N: Bare with me, this was mostly done at night while I was half asleep and rather tired, so yeah.

XD

"**What's that you have, Avelona?"**

"**Another book, Chire'ni loaned it to me."**

"**I see. Is it good?"**

"**It is very good. But, mother? Why does…why does Chire'ni think I'm…scary?"**

"**She…said that to you?"**

"**No, she says nothing to me. She says that to her friends, and I see it in her eyes. Why am I scary, Mother?"**

"**You're very different, Avelona, we are all different in one way or another, and we try to understand each other and accept these differences, but I will not lie to you. You are sometimes a little _more_ different, and Chire'ni is very afraid of this difference, many people are. It is the demons you harbor within you, there are many, and they are strong. It is very frightening that this could happen, and I am very afraid as well, I am afraid for you. Perhaps Chire'ni does not want to get close to you because you are too easily lost because of this."**

"**Because of my demons…if I killed them, will Chire'ni want to be my sister?"**

"**I am sure she would."**

Raven groaned and turned over in her bed.

"**Lady Sorceress, wait!"**

"**Yes?"**

"**Ah, well, I wanted to know your name. I am Malorek Rechior, a friend of prince Valhand. How do you do?"**

"**I am Avona. An apprentice sorceress to the wizard Mordak traveling back to her homeland."**

"**And a princess as well it seems…ah, Valhand and I were hiding in the curtains lining the throne-room walls, we saw what conspired. I heard you say your mother was the queen of your land, would that not make you a princess?"**

"**I suppose, but personally I prefer not to think of myself as such. 'Princess' is merely a title humans formed to make themselves feel more important than each other. In my land we have no such titles, and I am only treated differently because I _am_ different. As you can obviously tell."**

"**Well, ah, yes, I won't deny that I know. But I'm sure you'll find that, not being entirely human myself, I'm not going to treat you as some evil creature to be feared. If you'd give me the chance, I am certain we might become friends and learn quite a bit from each other. Mayhap I can help you, if you wish for help."**

"**Truly? Have you experience?"**

"**With your particular, ah, condition? No, none. You are a walking impossibility to all my knowledge and expertise. But, I am not the only one in this land who could contribute, however I am quite certain that, given time, I truly could become a worthy asset to you in this."**

"**Very well then, I look forward to it."**

Raven tossed again, a grimace on her face. She tried to wake herself up, but her mind was already pulling itself back into another dream.

"**Ah, the famed White Magus, I am honored to finally see you face to face, Avelona."**

"**Who are you, and how do you know me by name?"**

"**Your reputation proceeds you. I am Judora, the Back Magus."**

"**And exactly who decided you would be my opposite by name, Tainted One?"**

"**Hohoho, you catch on quickly. Think of me as your rival from now on."**

"**Why?"**

"**Why? Well it should be obvious, dear child, you are the one who banished my master to the abyss, for that you must pay."**

"**Well then, I expect I should be worried. I suppose the Lucifer's Messiah, what do your kind call him? Trigon? Yes, I suppose he was just a good practice session next to you."**

**"Don't play that game with me, Avelona. You yourself don't understand how you did it, but I do, I know exactly what happened. And I can tell you right now that it won't work so well on me."**

**"How, how do you know me when I don't know you? How do you know this?"**

**"Hn, wouldn't you like to know?"**

**Wake up, you'll want to wake up now, come on.** Raven's eyes fluttered open, hearing that familiar voice in her head, her voice, and yet, not her voice.

_Who are you?_ She asked.

**I am you. The part of you that you hate, that you try to suppress, the part of you that you worked so hard to rid yourself of, even now that you have purified me, you still fight against me. Why? Do you truly hate me so much still? Why is that when I no longer torment you, when you are free from me, when there is no longer a need to push me away? Why do you continue to cage yourself when it is no longer a matter of great risk for the entire universe?**

_Because I don't want to be like you._

**But you don't have to be like me, you can change me a little if you want, you can be whatever you want to be. But you're afraid, afraid of what might happen to you, afraid of whether or not you'll still be yourself, and afraid of what the others might think of you.** Raven didn't respond. **You don't have to change, and you will always be yourself. But, it is only hurting you, me, us, when you restrict me to the demonic body. You have come a long way in dealing with your new freedom, but there are still things you've yet to explore because you're afraid. You let yourself free a little in that dance club, but you allow the natural attraction other males will undoubtedly have for you to bother you too much. You need to learn to just have fun, like Zira.**

_But Zacroma and I are complete opposites—_

**How opposite? You're half demon, and she's half angel, but you both had a human mother, you were both brought to Azarath as special cases. Do you think that being half angel is a walk in the park either? _She's_ learned to let loose and have fun in spite of the severity of her upbringing, why can't you do the same?**

…_You're not going to leave me alone until I do, are you?_

**No, because you aren't going to let it go, you can't. I am only you, speaking the things that are hidden deep in the back of your mind, the things that are bothering you.**

_When you say, I don't have to change, then how can I appease this…problem, and not change?_

**You are Raven, but you are a caged Raven. You won't be changing, you'll be displaying more of _you_ than you ever have. You will be truly free. You will think the way you want to, speak the way you want to, act the way you want to. Though you are free of your bonds, you are still operating in a set of rules that were made for you during your childhood, the boundaries that you've yet to break yourself of.**

Raven got up from her bed, and walked over to her dresser drawers. She opened one, and pulled out a hand mirror, one that hadn't seen anything but that drawer in ages. One reason being that the glass was now cracked.

The door has been opened, and yet you are still inside the cage, still clinging to something that was never a very favorable prospect, because everyone fears change sometime.

_I will not change, it will be the outward me that changes._ Raven thought to herself, still staring at her fragmented reflection in the mirror. She walked over to the trash can and tossed it in. _But it will have to be gradual_.

**An indoor cat cannot become an outdoor cat over night if they are scared.** Dark Raven agreed.

XD

"So, what all did you dream about?" Rorek asked her.

"Well, first I dreamed about Avelona's adopted mother, we were talking about Chire'ni and why she was afraid of Avelona. They thought that if Avelona rid herself of the demons possessing her, Chire'ni would be her sister finally, or something like that. Then I sort of woke up for about a second, not much, and then it changed." Raven answered, furrowing her brow. "Next, I was talking to you, as Malorek Rechior, but you were obviously in a human form, and had somehow managed to befriend the prince of that land named Valhand." She went on.

"Never heard of him." Rorek said, shaking his head.

"The name rings a bell," Malchior mused, "But go on."

"I think I made a scene in front of the king, and blurted something out about my mother being the 'queen', only I guess I somewhat concealed the fact that the civilization was underground, and my adopted mother happened to be drow. I did make it known that I wasn't exactly human, however, but I did have some story going on about being an apprentice to the wizard Mordak." She said.

Malchior smiled, "Now _that_ sounds familiar." He said. Rorek murmured an agreement.

"I think you told off the King and the royal advisors for something, you were fairly young at the time, and it was the first time we'd spoken to you." Rorek said.

"We were also discussing a bit about my 'problem', you said you might be able to help me, even though I was a 'walking impossibility'. You said you wanted to become friends, though I get the feeling your initial goal was a little more than that." She added.

"The word 'duh' seems to apply here." Malchior sniggered.

"But that's not all," Raven said, frowning in thought, "I sort of shifted dreams again, though I was trying to wake myself up, and I dreamed about the first time I met Judora I think. But what she said…She said she was going to be my rival because I had sealed Trigon away, but she also said…something else. I was taunting her about thinking she'd be a match for me when I had defeated her master, but then she turned around and told me that not even I knew exactly how I'd done it, and that she did, and she said that whatever it was wasn't going to work on her." Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "And that makes me wonder, how could Avelona, who was powerful enough to defeat Trigon and seal him away in the first place, have so much trouble with Judora? It doesn't make sense." She said.

"Well, we don't know that she _did_ have trouble with Judora." Rorek pointed out.

"Exactly. Avelona always defeated Judora, no matter what trickery she used, but she never _killed_ Judora. For some odd reason, she was always reluctant to do so." Malchior said, his face screwing up as he fought hard to remember.

"You think she might have felt just a _little_ kinship, even though she refused to think of Judora as her sister?" Rorek questioned.

"Maybe but…this changes things. We thought Judora was only bitter and insane, but she was tainted when Avelona met her, meaning she _would_ have been there to get revenge on Avelona, for all that. It wouldn't have been anything personal, and Judora might not have hated her, but what did she care if her sister was killed? They'd never grown up together, never known each other, and ended up on opposite sides of the spectrum." Raven mused, "But Avelona might have felt, even though they were only sisters by blood, they should still have some semblance of kinship. However that would have been erased after Judora used you two against her, and then that would explain the immense hatred I have for her."

"Not that we'd need any _help_ hating her, but yeah, that would also explain why _we_ hated her so much as well when we first saw her." Malchior said.

"We didn't exactly remember her, but I know she remembered us from the way she was acting and smirking." Rorek put in.

"That's about it, and then, after that…well," She wondered how she was going to say this, "I had a talk…with myself."

"You mean Dark Raven?" Malchior asked at once.

"Yeah, I guess." She answered. It seemed apparent that, somehow, Rorek had found out about Raven's temporary loss of self, for he didn't seem at all surprised either (Slightly shared conscious?). "But it's more like, I don't know how to explain, it's like I'm talking to myself, and yet its another me. But it's still me, my own thoughts."

"We understand, go on." Rorek said with a nod.

"What do you think happened?" Asked Malchior, not concerned, just curious.

"What you thought happened, only, to a different degree. You were right, I _have_ been suppressing myself, and that little…scene was due to Dark Raven getting fed up with being ignored and suppressed. Or rather, _me_ being tired of caging myself." She explained, shifting a bit uncomfortably with the subject.

Malchior didn't help either. "You mean resisting the fact that you want to sleep with me?" SMACK! "OUCH! D! Is it just me or did your slaps just get harder?" He moaned, rubbing the satisfyingly red bruise on his cheek that was shaped like a hand.

"Shut up! It's bad enough without you making lecherous comments. One more and I'll toss you out of the room, I'd rather just speak to Rorek about this anyway, _so don't make this difficult_!" She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." He squeaked, shrinking under her glare.

Rorek turned his own death glare from Malchior and regarded Raven again, "So, what you're saying is that your darkness is getting restless because you continue to suppress it?" He asked, turning the subject back on focus again.

"Yes, even though…well, I don't have to, not anymore. What's going on is that I've still been clinging to the harsh upbringing I was put through, knowing that the moment I lost control over my emotions, more than my own life was at stake. The rules, the boundaries, everything that was hammered into me as a child no longer matters now, and though I've been able to 'let loose' a bit, I'm still holding back, 'keeping myself in the cage even though the doors open'." She explained. "And deep down, that isn't what I really want. I want to be free, I have forever, but now that I _am_, I don't know _how_ to be. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does. So, what you need to do is learn how to let yourself relax into this newfound freedom." Rorek mused.

"Good thing we have someone who's done that exact thing." Malchior said. When they looked at him strangely, he elaborated, "Zacroma, of course. Remember, she was probably put through the same harsh training that Raven had, having the same boundaries and rules set out for her, though probably not with such a degree of fear hanging around her, only that she might be discovered. And look how easily she was able to break free of all that and let her real self come out like a shooting star. If there's one person who can help you free yourself, it would be her."

"Yeah, Dark Raven, er, I mean, I was thinking along the same lines." Raven agreed.

"Good thing she's been trying to do this ever since she joined us, you just have to actively _try_ and let her." Rorek said, "I mean, I don't expect you to start liking that shopping thing, nor will you drape your room in bright colors," He mused.

"Exactly. So, now that that's taken care of, what next?" Malchior asked.

"Next? Next, I confront Chire'ni." Raven answered, instantly gaining jumps.

"I hope you don't plan on going alone." Malchior said, suddenly defensive.

"Of course I do! I can't talk to her properly if either of you are hovering around me, ready with a fireball the moment she shows signs of hostility, which will be the second I find her again. This is all assuming she's still in that house of course, she might have left." Raven said with a sigh.

"At least let us follow you enough that we'll know if you need any help, she doesn't have to know we're there, and even if she does we won't be able to hear what she says." Rorek said.

"No, I want to do this alone. I can't explain why, but I just feel it wouldn't be right, even if you two were out of earshot, the fact that you're there would still make a difference." She told them.

"Raven, don't be thick, she's going to try and kill you again! You know it! You can't reason with someone like that." Malchior told her.

"I'm not going to reason with her, or try to change her mind. I just want to talk to her." Raven answered, "I can take care of myself, I'll be on guard this time, I'll even make sure I have an open wound ready in case she decides to try something. But please, let me do this alone."

Finally, they nodded their heads in agreement, but they didn't look at all happy about it. "When?" Asked Rorek.

"Tonight." She answered grimly, "The sooner, the better. It can't wait any longer."

"Or else it will fester." Malchior said.

XD

It was noon, and Zacroma was up and about, easily tired, but still about. She had enough energy to play video games with Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Rorek, but seemed to get mysteriously out of breath during periods when she tried to get up in order to get something from the kitchen. Many times both Raven and Malchior had to look away to hide their smirks as Beast Boy rose each time to the occasion and swiftly got her whatever she asked for. Rorek and Cyborg pretended not to notice, only this was harder for Rorek as the fact that he wasn't offering to get Zacroma what she wanted as well was a bit obvious. After all, he was still a gentleman, whether he had more of Malchior in him or not. But after a few times, Zacroma began asking Beast Boy specifically. She started batting her eyelashes and sugaring up her words in a form of flirting that was so fake and obvious it could have been brushed aside as a joke.

It was a relatively quiet afternoon, there were a few emergencies, but nowadays only two or three of them were needed to handle it. Raven and Malchior pared up to take care of Dr. Light, and by take care of I mean walk up to him and have him on his knees begging for mercy without doing _anything_ whatsoever. Cinder Block tried making a bit of a mess, but Cyborg kicked his butt by himself and didn't have any trouble.

But in spite of that, the weight of the coming evening was keeping Raven's spirits low. Malchior _did_, of course, try to 'cheer her up', but only landed with a bruise on his left cheek, and a very amused Rorek. But Raven need to figure out what she was going to say, and what to do in a worse case scenario. The day drug on, and she wished she'd just gone sooner, but thought it'd be best if it was dark first and her leaving wouldn't be noticed very easily. If the other Titans knew what she'd set her mind to do, they wouldn't let her go alone, and she knew that couldn't happen.

XD

Raven took a deep breath, and landed on the familiar patch of land, scattering a few small spiders, and making a rather large one, probably Zerr, scuffle at a lightening speed towards the house. This gave Raven some hope, if Chire'ni had left, she'd have surely taken Zerr with her, at the least, Zerr was her favorite. This also seemed to be good as Zerr would probably alert Chire'ni she was here. Raven had often wondered, previously, if Chire'ni, as Shenira, had been able to actually _communicate_ with her spiders, now she was sure of it. The spider was a drow's sacred symbol, they were the creatures drow seemed to have the most affinity for, so the fact that Chire'ni's spiders served her in a way made sense.

Raven walked slowly across the lawn, her footsteps squeaking on the deck. She opened the door, preparing herself for a sudden blast of, something, anything, but it didn't come. She walked in, and saw Chire'ni in her kitchen, back to her, and in human form.

"I suppose you're here to kill me now, aren't you?" She asked when Raven entered the room. She hadn't even looked up.

"No." Raven answered flatly.

Chire'ni turned around to glare at her. "Stop toying with me, Avelona. I'm sick of it. Just kill me and be done with it, already, I've had enough." She said.

"If you want to die so badly, kill yourself, because I'm not doing it for you." Raven snapped irritably. "And you know what? _I'm_ sick of it too, I'm sick of this entire thing. I'm sick of the dreams, I'm sick of the memories, and I'm sick of being called 'Avelona'. You think _you've_ had enough you arrogant brat? What horrible thing ever happened to _you_ that you can just mope around wanting to die for no reason? You're the last of a dead race, you should feel _special_, you outlived them all and survived through the ages on your own. And you know what? I doubt you ever had to deal with the pain of a heartache, that you ever had to go through real pain and suffering. What did you do anyways? Dig yourself a hole and twiddle your thumbs all these centuries? I would _think_ that someone of your age would have wisdom enough to obtain an open mind." She said.

"Did you just come here to lecture me?" Chire'ni asked.

"_Yes_, I did, and you're going to listen to me whether you want to or not because you need to hear it. And stop me if I'm wrong because I don't particularly like the image I have of you right now and would like to change it." She answered. "When you were young and Avelona first 'darkened your doorstep', you were scared of her. And why shouldn't you be? You were a child, and though you were exposed to many different cases of mental illness, none were quite as bad as what you saw in her. You didn't understand her, and the fact that she was possessed by many demons just made things worse. So you were afraid of her, big deal, you could have gotten over that after she regained her sanity. But you stayed distant, and because of this, you were cut off from your mother as well, because she continually spent time with Avelona, helping her with her problem.

"This is what I think happened, you became bitter because Avelona had taken your mother away from you, but you're such a stubborn brat you didn't realize it was your own fault. You clung to your fears, and kept away, building up a hatred for Avelona, all the while _she_ was building up a love and longing for you, wishing that you might be her family. The entire demon thing was just an excuse to justify your hatred, you convinced yourself that you hated demons in general, and Avelona was possessed and harboring many demons, which gave her frightening powers. You told yourself that she was really evil and putting spells on everyone so that they wouldn't see that she was a monster. You told yourself that somehow you had resisted, and that her friendliness and outward wish to be your sister was a result of her trying to win you over another way. You were so caught up in this, you didn't even stop to consider that maybe, just _maybe_ the attack on Val'hilran was the work of another demon. And even if it had been Avelona, have you any _idea_ how hard it must have been being possessed by those demons? She was a walking impossibility, keeping any semblance of sanity while under that kind of stress, how could she _not _have lost control a few times. But you didn't even stop to wonder the kind of torture Avelona must have been going through, did you? You didn't even ask yourself what it must have been like, to be possessed by even _one_ demon, much less many.

"And yet, to this day you're still convinced that you were in the right, that you did nothing wrong. I expect this sort of narrow-mindedness from _humans_, but not from an aged fay. Avelona was _obsessed_ with you, she did just about everything just so you might call her 'sister'! She loved you, and even after you betrayed her, after you killed her, she, I, still retain that emotion. But I can't, for the life of me, fathom _why_. You are a selfish, close-minded, self righteous, brat who, in spite of her years, has yet to _grow up_ and let go. I don't much like this view of you, I _much_ prefer the one I had of Shenira, the strong, respectful woman who I really thought I had an odd, yet strong bond with." Raven told her.

There was a pause at the end of this speech, in which Raven was staring at Chire'ni sternly, but the drow wasn't looking her in the eye. Finally she spoke, "Are you done?" She asked, but her voice was uneven, trembling, as if what Raven said was shaking her up a bit. Good.

"Almost." Raven answered. "Zacroma lived, but just barely, which is the reason I didn't come sooner and kill you. If you're going to continue trying to kill me, _leave my friends out of it_." Raven hissed at her dangerously, "I don't want to kill you, I really don't. In fact, deep down, I _still_ feel the wish that you would be a friend to me instead of an enemy. But if that happens again, if anyone I love gets hurt because of your immature obsession, I won't kill you, I'll throw you into the very realm that you sent me. Understood?"

Chire'ni didn't have to answer, her tanned face had gone very pale in comparison to the skin color she'd chosen. But she nodded anyway.

"Good. However, if you finally decide to forget all of this and don't bother me anymore, I promise I won't come back to haunt you ever again. You can just forget about me and learn to _enjoy_ the extended life you were given. Likely you haven't been able to do much of that if you still remember everything that happened all those years back so clearly." Raven told her, turning back around so she could leave through the door. "I'm going now, but I hope you'll chose peace over war."

She was almost at the door, when Chire'ni finally spoke. "You aren't Avelona, are you?"

Raven stopped, and shook her head, "I am Raven." She answered.

"You're different, very different and…I'm sorry." Chire'ni said.

Raven sighed, her shoulders and her head drooped down, she was biting her lip and cringing with an inward pain, "I wish I could believe that." She said, "But I don't know if I can. Goodbye Shenira, Chire'ni, whichever. I hope we never have to see each other again." And with that, she left.

XP

A/N: Alright, now that that's out of the way, I can start working on the next plan of action here. The good news is, I think I have most of it figured out in my head, bad news is, you guy's will be seeing many evil cliffies in the near future. Gomen nasai!

Silverwinged-Raven: Nope, I got some of it from the Forgotten Realms, but that's from the Daughter of the Drow line of books. Mostly, though, I got my info from they're awesome!

Obsidia: LOL! Yeah, dragons are hot. Ever read Dragon Bait by Vivian Velde? That story's _awesome_. As for contacting you, I'll get to that today! But right now I've _got_ to get something to eat, my stomach's yelling at me for waiting this long. Ja ne!

Strange, that's all I really had to say. I mean, to most reviewers all I'd be saying is either 'yep!' or 'hey thanks!', so to everyone else, those apply I guess.


	22. The Darkness Within

A/N: Did you know that 30 of all the people in America get sued, but only 1 of _that_ number actually did something wrong? The American justice system is screwed, SUCK IT UP YA WIMPS! Geez! You know if I had a dollar for every time I heard of someone suing someone else for something _completely_ ridiculous (most of all the times when it's the fault of the suer's own shocking stupidity), I'd be able to afford that new Nintendo SP! Almost makes me want to be a judge of these things so I can come up and say, "Wait, wait, wait, you mean, to tell me, that you're suing the mailman because he kicked your dog, which was currently trying to attack him? Is that what I'm hearing? I dunno, this looks to me like a ploy to get some money, and you _do_ realize that if I let you sue him for something that stupid, he could turn around and sue you because the dog pounced, right? We're clear on this, correct?" I mean, really, this is just pathetic people, real pathetic.

XP

The day that followed Raven's confronting of Chire'ni was one that seemed oddly cheery. Zacroma was in perfect spirits, and instead of being pulled apart, she and Malchior had become closer. The titans found out what had initially happened of course, but now that it was passed and Zacroma looked to be completely over it, the subject didn't seem to need discussion, in fact that very afternoon found Zacroma cracking a slight joke about it.

Beast Boy, also, seemed to have brightened up a lot too, whatever happened when he had brought Zacroma her tea had definitely made some sort of start. Not only that, but he seemed to be getting better at transforming, having finally mastered a dragon with relatively good proportions, and even getting better at sparring with Zacroma using the duel blades. Though this might have something to do with his newfound encouragement.

Cyborg was almost in ecstasy, after having completely recovered from his ordeal, he'd hardly left the training room. He was pushing himself to his limits like no one could believe, and the blasts from their robotic training partners barely did a thing to him, even when he just stood there and let them blast away. And he was hardly ever tiring now, as his battery not only had a limitless quality to it, but it also contributed to helping his still-human parts keep going as well.

Robin and Starfire were going to go on another date that weekend (which merited the buying of even _more_ magazines), and Zacroma had promised Robin she had a dress that he would _love_ (not Starfire, _Robin_). Needless to say, he was a bit iffy about this, but that didn't spoil his spirits much in looking forward to it.

_However_, that's about where the cheer stopped, Raven, Malchior, and Rorek didn't want to spoil the other's spirits, so they mostly kept their problems to themselves. Raven, currently, was a little depressed over the whole thing with Chire'ni, she couldn't help it, the emotion was just _there_. But she was getting over that, what was worrying her now, was Judora. So far, Vincent's attack had been the only sign of her. It felt disconcerting that, now that Judora had a Death Wraith, she wasn't using it.

Malchior and Rorek agreed with this, but that wasn't all that was bothering _them_.

Well, they weren't exactly being _bothered_, but it was causing a disturbance of sorts. A casual hovering of several people in a room found the two of them standing next to each other, and then when they realized this, at opposite ends of the room. They were sending glares at each other one moment, and then the next finishing each other's sentences. Then Raven had actually caught them in a sort of push-and-shove session that might have escalated into an all-out fist-fight had she not stopped it in time. And then the two of them tried to have private time with her, at the same time. This was where she drew the line of course (mostly because this triggered a little too much sexual tension and she was _not_ ready for that quite yet), and sent them both out of her room. That didn't go over too well as they were hissing at each other the entire time.

They were merging, shockingly fast, that much was obvious, but they were fighting it pretty hard. The only problem with this was that it was exactly what Judora wanted.

The day came and went much like the last, save Raven was going to work instead of confronting Chire'ni.

"Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday, there were…uh, a few issues." Raven told her boss.

"That's okay, I understand." Auron said with a bit of a sigh. "I've hired a full-time employee, him combined with Justin and you at intervals will help keep me from busting my rear end so much. Forget this 'saving money' crap, I'm getting too old for this." He muttered. Raven stared at him. Seemed she wasn't the only one having a hard time, well _duh_, Auron had to have a life too.

"Ever hear from Elsa?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, actually, she asked me to say goodbye to you, and gave me her phone number to give to you, in case you wanted it. She said she was going to miss working with me, but she's been getting small-time offers after that movie, Ferosin I think was it's name. But yeah, she's already moving to LA." He answered.

"Ferosin? That's the new horror film, I saw it on a commercial once, didn't see Elsa though." Raven considered, "Of course I wasn't exactly paying much attention to it."

"Yeah, well, you're co-worker's currently manning the register, why don't you go over and say hello while I finish with these books?" Auron asked.

Raven nodded, and went to see who she would be working with. But it seemed Auron's standard had dropped a bit in the looks department. The boy was around 16, with messy jet black hair, brown eyes, and not _one_ piercing save for one earlobe, and that was just a simple metal band, nothing special. He had on a black t-shirt with "I'll be laughing at your funeral" on it, but his plane blue jeans fit him properly, he had a square build and was average in the muscular department. Raven felt her spirits lift, perhaps Auron had found a medium between Elsa and Justin.

"Hey, I'm Raven, you're co-worker, nice to meet you." Raven said, approaching him as he mused over something on the desk.

"Hey, name's Duke." He answered, only glancing up at her and then back down, seeming to be pricing a few things for the display, and then his eyes shot back up again.

"Right, I'll be telling off immature customers for rearranging the bookshelves, tell me if you'd like a break from the counter." She said.

"Actually, could you help me with this? Auron says you're good as spotting the true value of things." He asked hastily.

"Alright." She said, pretending not to notice a thing. She picked up a book that he'd priced and frowned, "This is a peace of junk." She said, flipping through the pages, "You can't sell this for 50 dollars, it's an imitation, better make it 15." She told him.

"Oh." He said, looking a bit embarrassed, and guilty.

"These two look good, however, and this one's, well, actually I think it _could_ sell for about 50." She said, studying the rest of the tombs he had. "As for those figurines, well, since they're modern works you sell them for more than you bought them, so they're probably alright." She told him.

"Er, right." He said, still staring at her. Raven raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why don't you let me handle this while you take care of the nice customer waiting for you over there." Raven said, gesturing to the girl who was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

Unfortunately, as time went on, Duke progressed past just staring at her, and started the subtle flirting. Mind, it was much better than she usually got "Hey baby, wanna come to my place and chill?", yeah, it was a lot more...smooth, but nonetheless obvious. Though _that_ didn't last long.

"So, ah, me and some friends were gonna go to this hot new dance club called Cybiria, you wanna come? You could be my guest, I'm sure my friends would like you." He asked her. "I know you might not be into dancing, but it's got a bar, and they'll sell you anything so long as you don't give them proof that you're _not_ over 21."

"Been there," She told him, not even turning from putting the books back in order, "Met the person who killed me in a past life, and I'd rather not run into her again." She said.

"You had a past life? Sweet, what was it like?" He asked.

"I don't remember much." She answered, wishing he would leave her alone.

"Well, what _do_ you remember?" He pressed, stepping forward.

_Like I'm gonna tell you._ Raven thought irritably. "Look, do the words, 'I have a boyfriend' mean anything to you?" She asked.

"Yeah, it means I have competition." He answered smiling. Raven turned back to the books, forcing her temper down.

"No competition," She said, "Both in my own eyes and viewed by the male's testosterone-based way of thinking." She answered.

"Really? I doubt that, give me a chance and I'll bet I can go past his standards. I bet he's got nothing that I can't match and surpass." Duke bosted.

"I bet he does." She snorted.

"Really? What?"

Raven was about to turn around and answer with something snappy, but then saw Malchior standing behind Duke. To say he was ticked would have been an understatement.

"Fangs and the ability to breath fire for one." He said with a low dangerous growl.

Duke turned around quickly, and found himself looking slightly up into a pair of blood red eyes, boring into his own with a look that could turn a braver man into jelly. Duke had readied some sort of retort, but it came out as a cough.

"You'd do well to keep your eyes, and hands, off my woman, mortal, else your internal organs become a part of _my_ internal organs." Malchior said, calmly, but dangerously. He seemed to tower over Duke even though he was only half a head taller. Right now he was cutting a _very_ intimidating figure, the black armor helping, but the fact that his entire air seemed to give off a non-human vibe made him downright terrifying. That, coupled with the fact that his death glare had been fixed upon _Duke_, it was no wonder the poor boy seemed frozen with fear. "Is this human bothering you, Love?" He asked Raven, though he was still leering at Duke.

Raven raised her head, which she had previously been covering with her hand in a 'why me?' sort of why, and said, "Not enough to warrant a death threat, by _you_ of all people, Malchior what are you doing here?"

Malchior looked at her, taken aback, "Removing a thorn in your side of course! Also making sure this puny human knows his place." He said, turning back to Duke, who was trying, ever so subtly, to scoot away, but froze the moment Malchior's eyes returned to him. "You've got a lot of nerve thinking you can compare yourself to me." He said, his voice back to being low and dangerous.

"Malchior." Raven warned, "Enough, leave him alone, he wasn't _doing_ anything, and he won't _be_ doing anything after this so you can quit asserting your superiority now." She told him.

"But, but it's fun to be the jealous boyfriend! And I'm not asserting my superiority, okay maybe I am, but I'm being territorial! Only this bloke isn't helping, he isn't even challenging my gaze, much less my claim over you." Malchior said, frowning in disappointment now.

Duke just stared at him, amazement and confusion overpowering his fear. "Um, what?"

"Forget it!" Raven snapped before Malchior could start explaining some dragon custom or social rule. "What did you want?" She asked Malchior again.

"Mmm, to catch you before you were off work." He answered, a mischievous glint in his eye. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Riiiiight, just don't terrorize the customers." She told him.

Malchior looked at Duke, who was regarding him as though he were a little out of it, but not wanting to make any assumptions, "He's a worker, right?" He asked.

"And don't terrorize the workers either!" Raven snapped.

"D#." Malchior grumbled.

XD

"I think the kethnic water's probably ready by now, but searching for Slade seems like a waste." Raven mused. "Perhaps we could use it to find Judora instead, but we don't have anything of Judora's to use. You think there's another round-about way we could use it to search for her?" She asked.

"You're doing this on purpose." Malchior, who had been grazing her neck with nips and kisses, grumbled irritably, trying with all his might to heat up the mood of the cool night air. He'd drug her to a quiet spot in one of the local parks, found a bench, and had pulled her onto his lap.

Raven couldn't keep the smirk down. "Doing what?" She asked innocently.

"You know exactly 'what'. I go to all the trouble of giving us some very _alone_ time, without the chance of being interrupted, and here you are trying to talk about that _woman_." He growled. Raven fought back a snigger, which turned into a gasp and a start as Malchior's finger traced the bust-line of her left breast. "That's more like it." He whispered seductively.

Raven's insides seemed to shiver, as the sensual pleasure she'd been fighting against began to spread, gradually pushing Judora and Slade from her mind as Malchior's thumb continued to rub that area. She knew she should stop him, before he went any farther but…why?

His lips began to trail up and down her neck again, only this time he was getting the reaction he wanted. She shivered and sighed, gasping when his hand trailed down and began to rub her bear legs, first on the outside, and then he began stroking the inside. Raven regained herself enough to keep his hand from going a little too far up along her leg. He obliged and brought it back up her torso so he could resume what he had been doing previously.

Finally, Raven decided to contribute, she turned around in his lap and caught his lips up in hers and started kissing him forcefully. He took in a deep breath through his nose and returned the kiss with a new vigor. Soon their tongues where entwining with each other, and Raven found herself pushing against Malchior, for the second time becoming the dominant one. She realized this, and hesitated, breaking off for a second with an uncertain look. But then Malchior smiled encouragingly to her, and began to trace his fingers up her spine, "Does Dark Raven want to come out and play?" He whispered.

Something was taking hold of Raven, something not entirely foreign, but something she found herself fighting against. However, it only took another second before she caught herself, and decided to go with it. She pressed her lips back to Malchior's, and they began to kiss with even more passion.

Malchior tried to reclaim some of his dominancy by pulling her down onto the bench beneath him, but this Raven wasn't going to have it. She grabbed him and pushed _him_ under _her_, pinning him down as best she could on the bench, which was far too narrow for a bed substitute, but would do for this. Malchior wasn't complaining _at all_, however, especially when Raven's lips trailed down and she began licking his jaw line like he always did to her. He gasped and groaned, his hands groping restlessly about her back and waist, urging her on. She didn't disappoint him, she nibbled his ear a bit, and then pushed his already gathered up scarf down even farther to expose his neck. She bit him, a little harder than she meant to, but made up for it by licking the wound.

He seemed to melt beneath her, his eyes only half open while his hands began to massage her back for nothing better to do. She continued giving him far more gentle love bites, ones that weren't going to leave marks, and then licking them.

And then she stopped, froze, her eyes wide with a sudden realization. "What?" Malchior gasped, his voice sounding _extremely_ put out, but nonetheless concerned.

"I just remembered…when Rorek and I were on our date, when Judora made the circle that transported us…she'd have had to use some of her own blood in order to make it. And unless she took drastic pains in order to gather up an entire block's worth of dirt from that area, the remains will still be there. We could very well _use_ the dirt to find out where she is because it hasn't been a full moon cycle since then!" She exclaimed.

Malchior looked up at her with a pained and pitiful expression, "You stopped just for _that_? Were you thinking about it the entire time?" He wined.

Raven looked down at him and gave him a rather incredulous look, "For your information, no, I was merely thinking a little about that date because we're in a very similar situation, with a few drastic differences, but still. And then I remembered, and this is a little more important than a make-out session alright?" She said.

"Well, yes I know, but did you have to just, _stop_?" He complained, his expression and voice were increasingly immature, looking as though Christmas had been canceled, and he was a little boy who counted down the days until it came.

Raven sighed, "Alright, sorry, I guess that was a little sudden." She said, and she pressed her lips back to his, engaging in a sort of finishing kiss to keep him happy. It lasted for a few minutes, and then they broke off, "_Now_ can we go check it out?" She asked.

He sighed heavily. "If we must." He mumbled, looking still dejected.

XD

Raven and Malchior landed softly on the ground, near the familiar bench that she and Rorek had shared their own passionate out-door kiss, and under the very lamp that illuminated the entire area. Raven knelt down, knowing that they would be standing right on top of the circle, and began to feel the ground. "It's still here! I can feel it, I don't believe this, you would _think_ she'd do a better job of making the circle in the first place, even if she _did_ have to teleport it. If I can trace the lines, and I can, then it's like she didn't even bother to clean up after herself, _at all_." She muttered.

"Which makes you wonder if it's really her blood she used." Malchior said.

"Well, there's one way to find out." Raven said, walking out of the circle just in case. She summoned a knife from her room and sliced open her wrist, flinching slightly as she did so. But the next moment it was gone, leaving no marking on pure white skin. Dark Raven walked back to the circle and bent down, touching the earth as she had before, but after a moment she stood straight back up and howled in rage.

"What! What is it!" Malchior demanded.

"**Hangman's blood!"** Raven hissed, kicking the ground. **"She used her blood alright, but she also used Hangman's blood as well, to be sure I can't curse it and therefore her."** She explained.

"Um, _what now_?" Malchior asked, eyebrow raised in confusion.

"**Oh, right. Well, it's a little hard to explain, but, well, if done right a dead man or woman's blood would have the power to undo my purification if I absorbed it."** She sighed and scratched her chin in concentration, **"How to explain this, okay, you know enough about blood to know that, as it circulates through the body, it can pick up and absorb memories and emotions right?"** He nodded. **"Well, certain memories and emotions can have power, a lot of power if they are brought out properly. Not least of which is a dead human's blood. Do you follow?"** she asked.

"I think so, but why would Hangman's blood have that sort of effect and none other?" He asked.

"**Well, think of it this way, a sudden death would give very little time for the blood to record the memory. But a slow, deliberate death, that's different. What goes on through the mind of someone when they know, without a doubt, that they're about to die? And what happens to these thoughts when they _do_ die? Someone who was tortured to death would be a bit different, because they have a lot of pain taking away from their ability to actually think. When you're hanged, you have time to actually experience the sensation of your death, depending on how light you are anyway. But this slow, not entirely painful death leaves the victim's blood time to record the whole process, and, sometimes, the actual death is recorded." **She explained, **"That's why hangman blood is such a valuable asset, especially if it was a criminal being hanged, and the criminal was innocent."**

"So, how would that effect _you_?" Malchior asked.

"**Think about it, the most powerful memory of that blood would be the death, and I would absorb that, I would _have_ death in me, I could likely go insane with it and revert. I'm a purified demon, but nothing is set in stone."** She answered.

"Great, so we can't use this blood to find Judora?" He asked.

"**Well, I can't do it in the way that I'd like to, but, and I'll have to consult Rorek on this as it's _his_ spell, the dirt should be good enough that we can scurry for her."** Raven said. She then summoned an empty jar from her closet, and began poking around to find the spot that had the most remains in it before scooping it up into the jar. **"That should do it."** She said, banishing it.

"So…" Malchior began, his hands slipping down along her arms, and then holding them along her waist, "Now that you're out, does Dark Raven want to play?" He whispered seductively.

"**Heheh."** She said, bringing a hand up out of his grip to flick his nose playfully, **"You already had yours, it's Rorek's turn next."** She told him, releasing herself from his arms.

"But, but but—" He argued, but she pressed her finger to his lips.

"**Alright, I need a little blood so I'll do it this way."** She said, pulling his scarf down farther to reveal his neck. She started licking the spot she was going to puncture first, making him shiver and groan with anticipation. Then she sank her fangs into his skin and he gasped. It probably hurt a bit, but in this situation it was a sensual pain, one that he would like. She took only as much as she needed and let go, but then began to lick the duel wounds until they stopped bleeding, and then continued a little, putting some frosting on the cake. When she finished, she reverted back to normal. "Alright let's go, the sooner we get this done, the better." She said, taking hold of Malchior's arm and teleporting the both of them back to the Tower.

XD

"I don't know, I mean, the spell requires a sort of ownership of the item, I'm not sure blood-soaked dirt would work." Rorek mused thoughtfully.

"Well, if your spell works the same way Voodoo does with that, it should only be a matter of changing a few things to tell the spell that we're using blood instead." Raven said.

"Voodoo? What's that?" Malchior questioned.

"I'm surprised Rorek doesn't know of it, if he was in Africa for a while, but then it doesn't get too much attention nowadays. It's a very unsavory branch of magic that originated in south Africa I believe, I'm not exactly sure because I never liked it, but it's most powerful spells involve using something that belongs to the person you want to cast the spell against. The reason for this was because that item most likely had been handled by this person a good deal, and therefore there would be enough fragments of their skin to override anyone else's handling of it. The skin is needed for DNA, and they are able to use DNA like how Dark Raven and some spells from the Book of Blood can curse someone using their blood, only it's a bit different in that they can only use it to effect the person it belongs to." She explained.

"DNA, that's the genetic makeup stuff isn't it?" Malchior asked. "I think I remember being owned by someone who once talked about the concept, so I think I have an idea of what you're saying."

"Just about any part of the body, save hair I think, can be used to extract DNA. Blood is a major source, so if you can give me details about this spell you're using, Rorek, I might be able to fix it. That is, if it doesn't work already." Raven mused.

"Well, thinking of it that way, it probably will." Rorek said.

"How do you know?" Raven asked.

"Well, you were the one who invented the spell in the first place, and you distinctly told me that sometimes it might not work with just anything, because it had to be something the person touched a lot." He answered.

"If we're lucky, you were on the same line of thinking then as you are now." Malchior mused.

Raven blinked, "Oh. Well, I think I got plenty of dirt, we can try it with a sample first and, if it doesn't work, see about altering the spell." She said.

"Sounds good. When do we start?" Asked Rorek.

"Tomorrow morning, as soon as possible." Raven answered.

XP

A/N: Wow, it is really hard to type with band-aids on your fingers (wrapped up gifts from my loving kitty, I think I hear the word 'de-clawing' echoing in the background), ahem, yeah, I barely got this chapter done in time because of this old game I've been re-playing (muuuuust focuuuuuuuusssssss). So yeah. Anyways! I'm gonna try and make this quick because it really isn't easy to type with damaged fingers.

Crimsonsun-rk: Well, it's like when you think in words, it's sort of like there's a voice in your head, but its your voice. That's what's happening with raven, they're her thoughts, however they're the thoughts of the _darker_ her. Say you have a split personality, it'd sort of be like you have one side of your head thinking this, and then the other side would be thinking that, and people _do_ talk to themselves sometimes. So that's sort of the way it is. They're different personalities, but yet they're still Raven as a whole. Make sense?

Jemerik: of course I missed you! I can hardly get to sleep at night without the sounds of biting chests flinging themselves into the walls and you're screaming to lull me to sleep! Lol, just kidding! But yeah, I want to be a writer _sooooo baaaaaaadly_ when I grow up, it's my dream job! Heck, I'm living in my own worlds more than this one, might as well make some money off of it so I don't have to do anything else! HAHAHAHAHAHA! And yes, Wish I Had an Angel is one of my favorites off Once. And a good day to you too madam. (If you are a sir, I apologize many times over in advance).

Dark ki: LOL! OMG THAT'S GOOD! Well, I dunno about the book store, and I don't know about the kid thing (are you sure we want something like that running lose on the earth? Madness I tell you!) but I might, _might_ go with this idea you gave me about Cyborg's love interest. Won't say more about it! And Starfire talking slang? Well, that might be fun, heheheheh. She can get a slang dictionary next!

Pandora Kattalikis: Ooooooh don't worry, she's come'n! We've just hit the calm before the storm, and I hope you like what I have in store for you guys!

Storm Front: GAH! A HOLE! A HOLE IN MY PRECIOUS STORY! AND I DIDN'T CATCH IT, AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Okay, let's say for the sake of a patch, that Judora couldn't _kill_ him, but she could beat him down until he was so week he couldn't stand against any spell she might want to place on him. And also, with the thing with Chire'ni, we can either day that Zacroma didn't know they couldn't be killed that way, or that they could only be killed by an outside force if it was at the exact same time, which it would have been, so yeah. I WILL HAVE TO FIX THAT LATER THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CATCHING IT FOR ME! (begins to grumble irritably) Can't believe I didn't catch it, this sucks…

To all of you who like Chire'ni, she isn't dead, don't worry, I didn't go through all that trouble of making her character just to leave her hanging over there, collecting dust. Alright? Alright.

Ja ne!


	23. Three's a Crowd

A/N: Ugh, feeling like crap…

XP

**Sweet scented candles burned on shelves, casting a dull light on the dark stone-walled room. The colors of the tapestries barely visible, a fireplace burned low, adding a little to the illumination. The room was lavishly furnished, but it's main occupant was books, shelves upon shelves of books. Work desks piled with books and parchment, filled with symbols and letters. Few desks held items, but these were always accompanied by more books. In fact, the only piece of furniture that suggested it was a bedroom and not a study, was the lavish bed standing in the very back corner, a bed which currently held more than one occupant.**

**Soft moans and contented sighs just barely broke the silence. Pale skin pressed together, thin, graceful arms curled around a lean yet toned torso, their skin with a slight gray tone to the pale, while the man's was more peach, normal. However, his hair was far from normal. It looked like each individual strand was made of pure silver, reflecting the smallest bit of light almost like a mirror, but moving freely as if it were real hair.**

**However, the oddity of this hair was well matched by the hair which belonged to the woman of whose breast he had laid his head upon. Longer than she was tall, it spread out everywhere, falling off the side of the bed and trailing along the floor a few paces, select locks of it also moved of their own accord at times. The woman herself had a very formidable look to her, the skin of her face was as smooth as marble, and looked as though it had been made that way for there were no wrinkles, no laugh marks, it hardly looked as though she moved her face at all. Her expression was almost emotionless, it was calm, collected, it appeared as though she were holding a child in her arms instead of her lover.**

**The latter shifted a little, raising himself up so that he could nuzzle her neck. "I'm not too heavy for you am I?" he whispered playfully.**

**The smallest, nearly unnoticeable of smiles curved the woman's lips as she opened her eyes only half way, "No." She answered, even her voice seemed to demand respect in its own collective fashion. "I'm not as physically fragile as I look." She told him.**

**He chuckled softly, "Of course." He said, nipping her neck.**

**The woman sighed heavily, "I suppose you'll be expecting this every night now?" She asked in an almost dreading tone.**

**"Must you sound like that? I thought you enjoyed it." He asked, pushing himself up so he could look into her eyes. Piercing royal violet ovals met deep blue orbs, looking put out and diminished.**

**"Oh it's enjoyable enough, but I have better things to do with my time. Such as sleep for one." She answered.**

**But he just chuckled, "Of course. But don't worry, my kind are definitely not as obsessed about this simple act of love and pleasure as humans are, and it's a lot more sacred to us as well. I still don't see how humans can just 'sleep around', it's really quite disgusting. We can be perfectly content with a bit of physical contact, just to know that there's love on the other side." He told her.**

**"Oh really? And exactly how many women have you slept with in your little dilly-dallying? Don't think I haven't heard about that." She said.**

**"Well, including you? One." He answered. She stared at him.**

**"If you're lying…"**

**"But I'm not! I assure you that while I _did_ do the courting game, it never went past that. I was looking for someone to love, not someone to bed. While human males don't think much of an actual relationship most of the time, be certain that _I_ do." He said, pressing his lips gently to hers for a moment.**

**"You just went _looking_ for someone to love?" She asked. "That doesn't seem like how it's suppose to work."**

**"Well, if you don't look for something, how are you going to find it? Sure you might just come across it, but I prefer doing things in _my_ time. After all, I don't know that I might have found you if I hadn't been specifically looking. I might have just passed you by without another thought in that market place, remember? When we first saw each other?" He asked her.**

**"I do. It was a good many years ago." She answered. "I was younger, and you were the same as you are now."**

**"Hnhn, you've aged slowly, though. But enough about that." He said. He pressed himself back down onto her, capturing her lips up in his once again. She kissed him back, her hand coming up to curve around his skull.**

(A/N: I'd like to point out that this is _not_ a lemon for those of you who are going to poke me in the ribs about it. If you'll notice I did not write out the sex, all you know is that it happened, okay? Okay. Also, this should be enough for those of you who are _wanting_ me to write a lemon, because that's all you're getting so nya!)

Raven awoke with a start, panting and with her heart beating. But it was with a different sort of exertion, it felt as though she'd just come up for air after a particularly heated make-out session with Malchior like the one last night. "Oh gods." She whispered, massaging her temples. Ugh, _that_ was some information she could have very well done without. But it was…strange. During her roll as Avelona, she'd felt so many emotions, such strong ones too, yet Avelona had not displayed them past returning the kiss…

Like she use to.

Raven rubbed her face with her hands, this was becoming a little much. So far she'd been able to tell herself, and insinuate, that she and Avelona shared the same soul, and that was it. They were different people. But now, especially after that dream, such a mindset was becoming hard to keep hold of. These dreams were feeling more and more as though she were regaining past memories instead of the memories of another entirely. She could remember her own particular thoughts, how Malorek's skin felt against her, the way he'd made her feel that her previous conceptions of her life were wrong when he kissed her.

But she knew it was only going to get worse. These things weren't going to go away, soon, she was going to remember everything. But when that happened, would she still be Raven? Or would she return to being Avelona? That thought was frightening, but at the same time, she doubted it. She was still herself as Dark Raven, why shouldn't the same apply with Avelona as well?

It was still a rather intimidating prospect, however, the more she found out about her past self's persona, the more she was reminded of herself before she met the Teen Titans. Had that not happened, that was probably how she would have grown up. Practically emotionless, barely smiling at all, and seeming reluctant to become apart of a relationship. After all, it had taken a few years for her to admit Malorek into her bed, obviously. And perhaps she was still that way to a certain extent, reluctant to engage in such an intimate activity, in spite of the fact that the demon part of her mind was trying to urge her into it. Though part of this was also that she would _much_ rather wait until the two were one, because then she would not have the other (who would inevitably find out about it) trying to kill them. And she was scared, she couldn't get around that fact. Most teenage girls were able to look at it as no big deal, but for someone with her upbringing, it _was_.

Raven sighed and tried to flush these thoughts from her mind. After all, she didn't have to think about them right then, Malchior and Rorek weren't human men, for the zillionth time, and were 'perfectly content with a bit of physical contact, just to know there's love on the other side'. But then she heard a knock on her door. She turned over to check the time, and frowned. It was 3:00 in the morning, who was up, besides her?

She got up and crossed the room to her door, and opened it, finding Malchior, _and_ Rorek standing there, odd expressions on their faces. They looked at each other for a moment, and Raven didn't need to ask. They'd had that dream as well. Nothing had to be said.

It was a still, confirming sort of silence, during which Malchior and Rorek were both looking and acting like a whole. Standing in the same position, blinking at the same times, and shifting the same way, and same time as well. It was almost like watching two dancers in perfect sync with each other, only that was a bit less…odd.

"Raven, can we," Rorek began.

"Just tonight could we," Malchior added.

"Come in?" They asked at the same time.

Raven shifted uncomfortably, "I…I don't know about this, I mean, two of you…" She half expected them to start fighting over who would leave, but they didn't.

Instead they frowned, gave each other a furtive glance, but turned back to her. "We know," Said Rorek.

"But we thought maybe if we…" Malchior trailed off.

"It might help the merging go faster." Rorek entered.

"We just want to be close." Malchior finished, stepping forward. Rorek did the same.

Raven bit her lip, "Alright, but just for tonight." She told them. Stepping aside to let them in, and then closing her door.

XD

When she awoke the next morning, it took Raven a moment to remember _why_ she had an identical arm wrapped around her middle, whose owner was on each side of her, their heads resting against her neck. Her arms were sort of around them, spread out beneath their own necks so it was like they were laying on her, but not too much. It was an awkward moment, both of them there at the same time, but somehow it felt…right.

The sunlight that had woken her up seemed to be having the same effect on Malchior and Rorek. They stirred, so she tried to sit up, but found that wasn't going to be happening at that moment as they both pulled her back down at the same time. "And who said you could get up?" Malchior whispered tentatively, as he started to nibble his side of her neck while Rorek began kissing the other.

Raven involuntarily let out a contented sigh, she knew she shouldn't really be enjoying this, it was too _odd_, in a bad way, but how could she when it felt so right, so perfect? She began to rub their backs and shoulders at the same time with her arms. Rorek sighed and nuzzled her neck affectionately while Malchior groaned and shivered with pleasure at her touch. Rorek was the first to catch her lips up in his, but Malchior pretended as though he didn't notice and merely continued to kiss and nip at her neck. Rorek's hand merely moved up and down the waist opposite him, as Malchior's had moved up, and had begun tracing her bust line again with his thumb, though it was currently _Rorek_ who received the benefits of her arousal at this.

Raven gently broke the kiss and began to squirm a bit. This was far too strange for her, how the heck was she suppose to keep up with them both _at the same time_! It was becoming too uncomfortable, no matter how 'right' it might feel.

"What's wrong?" Rorek whispered.

"I, I'm sorry, I can't do this." She answered in a hushed voice, pulling herself up. Rorek and Malchior both followed her lead. "It's just…one is enough, I can't, I can't do two at a time it's just not…I just can't." She told them.

"It's okay, we understand." Malchior assured, though he looked a bit put off.

"Yeah, imagine if this was the other way around." Rorek said.

Malchior shuddered, "Ah, no, let's not go there." He grimaced.

"Oh so it's alright for me to be in this situation and not you?" Raven asked.

"Good gods, Raven remember what we told you about dragons being strictly monogamous? We'd go mad!" Malchior exclaimed.

"By the way, Malchior, remember when you said that Avelona was no fun in bed? Exactly what were you comparing that to when, supposedly, you hadn't bedded anyone else, according to that dream?" Raven asked him, raising an eyebrow.

Malchior shifted uncomfortably on the subject, "Well, we had our friends' little stories and boastings to go by." He answered plainly, ignoring Rorek's dark look and not meeting Raven's eyes either. But she knew he was telling the truth, he just didn't like to be on that particular subject.

"It was…hard to tell sometimes…that she loved us." Rorek said soberly. Malchior nodded grimly. "That time, that dream…that was, I think, the first time we could really tell, the first time that there was absolutely no doubt she did, because we could feel it, in spite of her…self I guess."

It seemed the subject of the dream wasn't going to blow over, so Raven just sighed, "She did," She said, but then she paused, grimaced, and started over again, "_I_ did, I could feel the emotions, she, I really did love you…a lot." She said, not meeting either of their eyes.

"We know." Rorek said, slipping his arms around her. Malchior joined in as well.

"I remember…the look on her face, I don't know what happened exactly, but I remember the last time we ever saw her, she thought we didn't love her anymore for some reason. Likely it was Judora's doing." Malchior added with a growl. "But…she displayed a real, unhindered emotion then." He said softly.

Rorek nodded, "I don't think we had ever seen her, you, actually cry like you had. I don't think you could tell Judora was behind it somehow." He said.

"So then I split you up and left, just like that?" Raven asked.

"No, I don't think so." Malchior said with a frown of consideration, "That memory, and the last memory I have of you seem…different, somehow. Like they happened at different times, and you weren't crying in one setting, so that might have been obvious." He then shivered, "I can remember the look you gave us _then_ though, only thing I can really picture clearly of our whole self without any help."

"So…why?" Raven asked with a frown of her own, "If I split you up…and _then_ left a time after…that doesn't make sense." She said.

"Yes it does." Malchior said, his eyes widening with what looked to be a sudden revelation, "Because when you split us up, Rorek stayed with you, and I went to Judora."

Both Raven and Rorek stared at him in surprise, though Rorek's expression resembled Malchior's. "_What_?" Raven gasped.

"Dragons are monogamous, but what if Avelona didn't really know that? What if we never exactly _told_ her this and she never bothered to find out because it wasn't exactly important?" Malchior asked, "Judora wouldn't have been able to fully control the mind of a gray dragon, but she _could_ have twisted it, _forced_ me to feel an attraction for her as well. Avelona would have noticed, and we might have said something about it to her."

"But she wouldn't have listened, even if _you_ knew that was what was happening." Raven said, "She would have blown up, she might not have even been able to control what she did, she might have been influenced by her demons or something, and it just happened. Though she wouldn't have worked to put things back, Rorek would have been the part of Malorek that still loved her and would never leave her. So she took him."

"But then you came back." Rorek said to Malchior. "Said something about being tricked and that you wanted Avona for yourself."

Malchior ran his fingers through his hair, "Of course I would have, I probably realized what was going on and broke Judora's hold over me. I guess I somehow managed to get away from her by being sneaky, because if neither of us could really defeat her on our own, I doubt it would have been much different back then. But then, she might have been weaker at the time." He considered.

"So instead of trying to explain this and getting Avelona to merge you back, you fought." Raven summarized.

"Ah, well, think of how I had been all those months ago when I tricked you into thinking I was a 'good wizard' and then broke your heart when I was freed. Now think of that, being worse. I don't believe I would have really _wanted_ to merge back, all I cared about was that you were mine and Rorek was a very formidable road block." Malchior told her.

"But then, what of you?" Raven questioned Rorek.

"I might have been the more demure and timid side, but I wasn't just going to give you up. So far as I was concerned, he lost you the moment you separated us." He answered. He then screwed up his face in concentration, "I think we had many battles before you left, most of which only ended when you came onto the scene and blasted Malchior away with a few rather colorful words and threats."

"But then…what happened to make me leave?" She asked.

They both frowned and thought, "Judora, obviously, but…" Malchior considered.

"She might have used another spell, on both of us." Rorek pointed out.

Malchior nodded, "And if Avona _still_ couldn't tell we were being controlled…"

They were all silent.

"Then she would have left," Raven began, "And gone back to her family. But if she never told Malorek about that place, then neither of you would have known where to find her. So far as you could tell, she disappeared, and was never seen again."

"But what about Judora? What happened afterwards?" Asked Rorek, trying his best to remember.

"Well, after that, we probably would have united long enough to break the spell and lash back at her." Malchior answered. "I guess we thought we killed her because after that, all I remember is us fighting against each other non-stop. The battles only ended when our bodies gave out and we couldn't continue."

"The destruction you caused would have justified _both_ of you being sealed away. I think whoever organized it, if anyone did, eventually decided that Rorek was just as guilty, seeing as Malchior was sealed first for a while." Raven mused.

"So, we now know what happened, and why. I imagine the more we merge the more we will remember, and you've already begun having memories in the form of dreams. But now we know the basic story. What next?" Rorek asked.

"Next? Next we find Judora, and settle this once and for all." Raven answered with a final tone to her voice.

"But first we have to finish preparing the others, remember? We still have Starfire and Beast Boy." Malchior said.

Raven bit her lip, "Alright, I'll be doing Beast Boy next. I'd better prepare Zacroma." She said.

XD

Zacroma had been ready for this it seemed, after two times she appeared to be getting use to the ordeal, and had recovered rather quickly after a few potions and a bunch of Rorek's tea. Raven was also recovering quicker, but that was mostly because Malchior and Rorek had both contributed, and insisted she take more than she really wanted to. Beast Boy, on the other hand, was going to be bedridden for the rest of the day, and on till the next. However, he didn't seem to mind as it was Zacroma who, after recovering herself, was bringing up his food and such.

After that, Raven decided to join Cyborg in the training room, feeling that she had better continue to improve her body even though she no longer had Shenira's obstacle course to help. What she _did_ have, was Robin's, which focused more on the ability to dodge things trying to attack you while jumping onto and over stuff. It wasn't what she was use to, so she had to put the level to its lowest and went ahead in strapping some extra weights to her wrists, ankles, and waist. She put on the spandex she'd used with Shenira, and started.

It was actually much easier than she had expected. While she wasn't too fast at dodging, Shenira's program seemed to have paid off more than she thought, and she was dancing around the higher spots without using her natural ability to fly.

Soon, though, she and Cyborg were joined by Starfire, who set up her practice area and began shooting her targets with the bow Raven made for her. Her targets being cheep balls that were thrown in all different directions by the machine. Then Malchior and Robin came in, Malchior holding one of his own swords, and Robin with the blood sword Raven made. However they didn't start practice for a while, both of them were staring at Raven almost transfixed. Malchior for obvious reasons, and Robin because she was actually getting through his obstacle course without too many problems, even though it was on the lowest level.

When Raven finished, she was panting and sweating, her hair (having been pulled back in a low ponytail) was sticking to her, but she wanted to go again. However the two black haired men watching her weren't going to get anything done if they didn't tear their eyes away. "Are you two going to practice fighting or staring at me?" She demanded.

"Oh I don't think I need to practice staring at you, I've pretty much mastered that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop." Malchior said, his eyes twinkling with something she didn't exactly want to name.

Raven rolled her eyes, "Malchior! Refocus your attention on something more productive." She ordered, and at once wished she'd been more specific.

"Okay." He said. He looked away for a moment, and then the next thing she knew he was standing next to her, and had started licking the sweat droplets about her neck. SMACK! "GAH! Okay this training thing is working a little _too_ well for you." Malchior grumbled, rubbing the red hand mark on his cheek as he walked, grudgingly back over to Robin, who was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud.

Raven pressed a few buttons on the control module of the obstacle course and then began it again. It was a little easier the second time around, but she still came out of it panting and sweating more than she had. "I'm going to shower off." She called.

"I'll come with y—"

"NO!" Raven snapped before Malchior could even finish.

After she showered and dressed again, feeling refreshed and soar at the same time, the alarm went off. "I'll handle it." She called.

"I'll come with you." Robin offered.

"Alright let's go."

XD

"Are you sure this is the site?" Raven asked, surveying the building with a frown. There was nothing apparent on the outside, so whatever triggered the system would be inside, but she could sense nothing off at the moment, the place looked deserted, and quiet. Too quiet. Raven frowned, "Last few times we went somewhere and the situation wasn't obvious, we ended up—" She began, but she didn't get to finish her sentence as at that moment something hard and metal connected with her skull from behind. She had just enough time to see Robin drop to the ground beside her, before she lost her balance as well.

It didn't knock her out, but it sure as heck dazed her to the point that she couldn't gather herself up swiftly enough to get away from the bag she was being forced into, which would have confused her in the first place for now she was being smothered with something she was not 100 percent sure of, and then swung around.

By the time she had regained herself, she was being spilled out on the ground, head first, and found herself face down on a dusty floor. She spat and coughed, still feeling a little dazed. She brought her hand to her head where she'd been hit, and found something sticky there. Blood. "Ugh, you're going to pay for that." She growled, struggling to get up, but someone slammed his boot down on her back laughing, knocking the breath out of her. She coughed again and swore.

"Language, language," Said an unfamiliar voice, tisking her merrily, "Children shouldn't be swearing." He said.

"Hmph, guess I didn't hit her hard enough." Said a voice a ways away.

Raven raised her head to glare daggers at whoever their would-be captor was, and found, to her utter shock, a painted white face, red lips, green hair, long nose, and purple tailcoat. "The _Joker_? What the heck are _you_ doing here!" She exclaimed, wheezing.

"Just dropping by to say hello to an old friend." He asked giving her his trademark smile. "Hello Roby boy!" He said going over to Robin, who was still out cold. "Oh dear me, he seems to be unconscious. Oh well! I suppose I'll have to wait until he wakes up then!" He then laughed aloud.

"You'll be dead by then." She growled. "Azarath Metriom Zynthos!" She exclaimed, fully intent on blasting the one who's leg was on top of her through the roof. But nothing happened.

The Joker came back and shook his finger at her, tisking, "Silly girl, did you really expect me to come all this way and _not_ be prepared? I had expected the whole lot of you, think of my delight when it was just you and Wonder Boy over here. But, I digress, one of my precautions was to secure a no-magic-allowed field about this area. Took me a while to get the talisman I needed, but I managed it, don't you think. So therefore, no magic for _youuuuuuu_!" He taunted, and began laughing again.

Raven's temper was rising rapidly, she opened her mouth, fully intent upon saying something extremely rude (Malchior was rubbing off on her far too much), but then Robin stirred and moaned. Her attention shot to him, he tried to get up as well, but another thug stamped their foot on him, keeping him down.

"Why hello there! I was just talking to your charming little girlfriend here!" The Joker said, delighted.

Robin caughed, and couldn't stop the laugh, "Too bad Malchior wasn't here to hear you say that, he'd—" He began hoarsely, but then he looked up, and recognition shot into his expression, "_You_!" He exclaimed.

"Me!" The Joker replied joyfully. Not at all thrown by the mention of someone he most likely didn't know about.

"What the heck do you want, Joker!" He demanded.

"Hmmmm, well, I told this fine young lady that I wanted to say hi to you, but now that you mention it, I think the word 'bait' would work here as well! See, the Bat's not gonna take the kidnapping of his partner lying down, you know very well he'll come running to save your hide. He always does. So, when he comes, well, I don't think I need to spell it all out right now, but trust me it's one of those ridiculously elaborate schemes that will, in fact, work this time." The Joker answered.

Robin looked over at Raven, an eyebrow raised, "Why isn't he on the floor begging for mercy yet?" He asked.

"I'm getting to it." Raven growled, raising her hand back to her wound. The fact that she was going to have to transform just to handle a few _humans_ was almost too embarrassing to take. Robin and Raven's words, however, triggered a round of laughter, and that did it. She was at the end of her rope. "Yes, mortals, laugh all you want, for it's the last thing you will be doing." Her demon voice hissed, and she began to pick herself up, completely ignoring the foot on her back as though it wasn't there. The blood was sucked back into her skin.

Dark Raven waved her hand at the one who's foot was still on Robin, and he was thrown back into his friends as Robin picked himself up as well. "Humans, I have to transform just to take care of a bunch of _humans_. Have you any idea how _irritating_ this is?" She asked, looming over the Joker, who's expression had changed from amused delight to confusion and fear.

"I-I'm getting an idea." He peeped.

"I suppose I should commend you on your efforts, but we don't have time to get dragged into your pathetic little schemes." She said, picking him up, and bringing him over to a dark corner. "So, to teach you to _never_ come back here again," She said, and then the rest of her sentence was punctuated by screams, which grew in volume and were pronounced with ripping and cracking sounds that made even Robin wince. However, when the Joker fell back into the light, he looked virtually unharmed, however, he was curled up in a fetal position and shivering, a look of terror on his face.

Raven walked into the light after him, looking like a dark, menacing creature, illuminated in just the right way that it was extra freaky, and her four eyes glowing in a rather amused way. "Think I'll gift wrap him and teleport him to the Gothum police station." She mused. She then looked up, and each and every one of the Joker's thugs dropped whatever weapons they had and raised their hands in the air.

"We'll come quietly!" Exclaimed one of them. Raven chuckled.

"I'm just not going to ask what you did." Robin said, staring avidly at the Joker, who was now sucking his thumb.

"Now to see about that talisman." Raven said with a glower, she raised her hand over him, and a string which had a jewel set in silver attached to the end came into it. She looked at it, and an expression of anger which had the thugs running for cover came onto her face. "I could have broke this thing's magic with a simple spell!" She cried in anger and frustration.

"Well, at least we know this had nothing to do with Judora, she'd likely have warned him, _and_ given him a better talisman." Robin mused. "But now what do we do with them?" He asked.

Raven grinned, and the thugs cowered, "We can gift wrap them all and send them _all_ to the Gothum police station." She said

A good many miles away in Gothum, the police station was shocked to suddenly find the Joker and his crew tied in ribbons, each supporting a large bow, and the Joker still sucking his thumb, mumbling something like "Mommy there's a monster in my closet and she has four eyes!" They also found a note attached to the Joker which read, "Tell Batman that he needs to keep up with his own super villains because we have enough on our hands at the moment without adding _his_ enemies to our list. –The Teen Titans."

XP

A/N: Many apologies for the lateness of this chapter, but I've been undergoing a bit of stress, stress that has nothing to do with current happenings, if you know what I mean. Yes ladies, all of us are victims to this kind of stress.

Ahem, anyway, I thought putting the Joker in there would be funny, and then to have Raven do a Dr. Light on him while in demon form, heheheh.

Dark Ki: LOL! Heheheh, you know, if you need a place to hide you can hide with Jemerik in my horde which is hidden beneath my basement. Just watch out for attacking biting treasure chests and be sure to watch out for anything with eyes.

Samael Archon: (Holding a fork and a salt shaker) Sorry, no Jemerik here, but if you'd like to step inside and have a look see, you're welcome to it. heheh. Anyways, yeah, a _proper_ hanging would probably do that. But who says them middle agers were concerned with making their victim-er, I mean their criminal's deaths painless? I keep hearing that it takes a while for the noose to work and for them to choke to death. So yeah. But I'll say 'my bad!' anyways because you're probably right too.

Miyu399: Uuuuuh, I really don't know about making a third one, my concentration is wavering as it is. I might later on though, we'll have to see.

Silverwinged-Raven: IIIIII'm not sure if I could really do that. Honestly, I'd have to take a bit too much from the origninal TT episode "spellbound" in order to explain it all. I mean, well, when I start writing my own books I _might_ use the whole 'dragon split into two people' thing, because that idea is completely a totally mine. And I think you for your support. I'll be sure to poast a note up on my Bio on if I ever do get published, so you can check that to see. But it probably won't be for a while. I still have to finish this, and then _finish_ an original story. So yeah. Thanks for the support. As for Zacroma, well, I really didn't think that needed to be explained, but her wings got cut off so it wouldn't be so obvious, that's why the scars are there. It would probably be a fairly touchy subject for her, so we didn't go into it.

Jack Inqu: Yes, they _will_ be reappearing, don't worry. They have a good part to play in all of this, but I won't say anything else! As for Starfire's bow, well it protects her as well, like Robin's sword, and her blasts do become more powerful, but it can also cast the same spell that it was made from, only Starfire isn't exactly strong enough to use it. I don't think she'll ever do that though, there's a lot of stuff I need to cram into this, so that might never be explained. Oh well. Sorry!

...: Is that your _name_? Wow, how do you pronounce that? Or is that what you've collectively decided you all are to be named, hm, interest. Lol, j/k! But how am I suppose to respond when you don't have a proper name to go by? Oh well, I guess that works. As for the poems, well, Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven only has 18 stanzas, so I ran out of them after chapter 18. It kinda sucks too.

Untrustworthyangel: Usually, on a regular basis, I try to be nice, polite, and overall cheery to reviews that grind at my nerves and depress me so much I wonder if anything I do will ever be good enough for a novel, but this is _not_ a good time, so I'm just going to say what's on my mind, and apologize in advance for it because I'm _not_ in the right mind to properly respond. I STATED VERY CLEARLY IN THE A/NS OF 'SPELLBINDER' THAT MY SPELLING SUCKS, I SAID AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST CHAPTER, I BELIEVE, THAT I KNOW THIS, AND I AM WORKING TO IMPROVE IT, BUT I NEVER CLAMED TO BE PERFECT, OKAY! And you know what? It's not a walk in the park getting chapters out every other day (this one being the only exception so far), I have to type pretty fast, but if you want me to take an extra day or two in updating to be sure I've gotten every single misspelled word and grammatical error. Which won't happen, because I cannot critique my own work very well, I am not good at catching some spelling errors, and sometimes the grammar I use is a result of modern ways of speaking, and from the stuff I've been reading as well. I know that in some instances, 'and' could have been removed because it's being used too many times, but I've come to see my coma usage as adding to the emotion of the text, though I will admit that I could do with some improving. I never clamed to be perfect, I'm not getting paid for this, and if I do ever become a writer like I want to so very badly, I will have an editor to help me with all of that. For now, I like to think that I _have_ improved a bit, and that I am much better in my usage of the written word than _some_ people out on I mean, if _I_ catch some spelling mistakes, it's pretty bad. So I apologize again for being rude, and I will probably go back and edit this out, but I'm just in a bad state of mind to be handling all of that. I do use spell-check regularly, trust me, but spell-check doesn't always pick up everything, as we all know.

I think I'm just gonna curl up and die now. Ugh…I feel like crap. I think I'm just gonna go back to bed now…


	24. Preperation

A/N: Well, Yume, my darling kitty, has been declawed, and she's been moping about it this entire time. It was kind of funny at the Vet when we went to pick her up, I had to come back there to get her because no one would approach the cage, even though she didn't have any front claws anymore. She was _not_ happy with them, though didn't seem to think I was at fault so she's been a little clingy for a while. Poor kitty. But it was either your claws, or my hands.

XP

The next day Robin got a call from Batman, who, amused, assured Raven that he would try to keep tabs on his own villains from now on. The Joker, he added, seemed to be suffering from 'delusions', "They say he was talking in his sleep, insisting that a four eyed monster woman was after him now I wonder who that could be." He'd said when Robin had called Raven in. He was smirking, apparently finding the entire thing extremely funny.

"Hmmmm." Raven said, musing in a would-be innocent way.

"I don't think you did wonders for his sanity, though I doubt he'll be breaking out anytime soon, which is an improvement in some ways. I won't ask what you did to him, I'll just assume he got you angry enough that you transformed and then began regretting ever laying eyes on you." Bruce said.

"Well, the next time you see him, tell him I send my love, and then get a picture of his reaction if you wouldn't mind." She told him. He just laughed and bid them goodbye.

It had only been a day since Beast Boy had been 'upgraded', but Zacroma was insisting that they needed to do Starfire as soon as possible. Raven didn't think this was a good idea, and neither did the rest of the Tower's population, but finally she gave in, however she insisted that Zacroma stay in bed for the day and that they would do it that night. She was forced to drink some nutrition potion and a lot of Rorek's tea for a while as well.

The transition was, as always, not pleasant. Starfire was nervous, of course. She knew what kind of pain it would involve, but she faced it bravely and ended up being the only one who didn't scream, but was unconscious for the rest of the night and bedridden long after just like the rest of them.

That was the last straw though, Raven just had to call Auron up and tell him she was going to have to take a leave of absence, and that she didn't expect him to hire her back in case he found another employee, one that didn't have to save the world from an evil snake woman. So now she had her evenings free to begin some heavy-duty studying, and by that I mean she drug Malchior and Rorek to the roof of the T-Tower and had them begin to teach her some more spells, both small and big.

The first thing they taught her was how to crystallize light with her mind, this being that they only had so many hours of daylight and sunlight was the easiest to do this with. She crafted small blocks of it at first, they looked like glass blocks, but with rainbows all moving about on the surface and probably inside, yet still keeping transparent. Then she began to craft more detailed items, like a sphere, a prism, and actually made a rather decent flower.

"It lasts for practically forever, and is as hard as you're ability allows you to make it, or as soft, but it isn't good to use for spells and such. Try to seal magic inside one of these and it leeks out like water in a net. All it's good for is your basic mass material, and looking pretty. However a simple spell can turn it back into light pretty easily, and if you hit it so that it shatters, it'll become light again as well. Dead useful though." Malchior had explained.

The next thing they taught her was how to repair clothing and inanimate objects. _This_ was useful, but it only worked on things that weren't too complicated like wood, glass, clothing, and metal, you couldn't use it to mend a busted TV though, that'd just sort of mold all the individual parts together and make a single ore with it all. Though that would be interesting to try, provided it didn't turn into some radioactive substance for some odd and insane reason.

After that was a few offensive and defensive spells, which she mastered swiftly as this was her forte. And then it was time to go to sleep, only to get up the next day and continue.

Once Starfire recovered, training was intensified, for everyone. Beast Boy was working his whole body into the ability to transform into all sorts of different animals. But that wasn't all, when he transformed into a mythical animal, he was beginning to loose the trademark green of his body, and his skin was looking more…normal. For the dragon he was turning red, for the elf he was turning tan, and for the rest of them he was turning the appropriate color. After being told about it, he was trying to turn into a drow as well, but this wasn't working. He kept getting a dark elf and no matter how close that might have been, it still wasn't drow.

Cyborg hadn't stopped training since his own ordeal, but was intensifying it as well. Zacroma taught him how to power up his plasma cannon with the little magic he was now able to use, and it was really getting powerful. He was also becoming faster with his movements, and more agile, as if he just didn't weigh that much anymore.

Zacroma was training herself hard as well, her skill at the duel blades was almost flawless, but she was lacking the power she really needed to put behind them, and was currently using Cyborg's weight training machines to get stronger. She was still getting _some_ practice in, training Beast Boy, but that was only at intervals.

Starfire seemed to show the most improvement of them all, not only were her blasts more powerful, with and without the bow, but she had become faster, stronger (if that was possible), and far more agile it seemed. She could practically dance through the air, dodging all sorts of things, and her aim was almost perfect, she was no longer missing any target she had her eyes on.

Robin's training with Malchior intensified as well, he was getting good enough that the two were able to go all out on each other. Well, Malchior had to hold back his inhuman strength and speed, but other than that the skill was nearly even, though Malchior still had years and years of experience ahead of Robin, that was negated by the thousand years he spent as a book, and being unable to practice then his skills needed sharpening.

Rorek was training himself in speed and agility more than anything else, he had joined Raven on Robin's obstacle course, and had to be told off a good few times before he would just run through the coarse and not stop to help Raven when she'd stumbled or lost her footing. He did put a good many weights on himself as well, more than Raven had, and was still going through the entire thing with few problems, so eventually he and Raven decided to take turns, him on much higher levels than even _Robin_ had been able to aspire to, and her still working up past level 2.

As for Raven, juggling physical _and_ magical training was hard work, but if it was easy anyone could do it. While Rorek was using the obstacle course, she was practicing a few very complicated spells. Crystallizing the artificial light was no easy task, and it was definitely not as pretty as sunlight was, it just looked like a block of glass whatever shade of color the lights happened to be with some fogy stuff moving around in it. But she figured doing this would get her more practice with magic in general, and besides, it could come in handy, you never knew.

Also, meditation was becoming necessary, not so much to gain more memories, as it was to clearing her mind and preparing herself for the task ahead.

It was Judora's next move that had triggered her resolve.

A few days after Starfire's Ordeal, the titans had a trio of visitors, but not just any visitors, Shade, Daniel, and Michael. Only, they weren't just stopping by, in fact they probably had no idea where they were.

It started out being a bright sunny day, with a few clouds hanging in the sky. The forecast was for rain and possibly a storm if the wind continued in the pattern it showed. The titans were about to group back into the training room, when Zacroma happened to look out the window, and see three figures laying down on the island in front of the tower. Raven, realizing who they were, teleported down and instantly transformed, using a little of Zacroma's blood in order to heal them.

They'd all ended up with snake bites, oozing green and red puss, on their necks. The poison came gushing out, but they didn't wake up for a while. It looked like some of their blood had been taken as well. "She's taunting me now." Raven said, "She thinks I can't find her, or that I won't come to her. She's wrong." She turned to Rorek, "Today, right now, let's find her, and bring this to an end!" She said.

XD

Raven filled her bowl with the light-soaked waters of her cauldron and carried it gently down to her room, careful not to spill a single drop on the way down. Malchior opened the door for her, and she set the bowl down in the middle of the circle Rorek had drawn on her cleared floor.

The lights had been turned off, and the window was completely sealed, using magic to keep any and all light from entering, same with the door just in case. The only light was coming from the kethnic waters in the bowl, and that's all they needed. Rorek began, putting the dirt into a white cloth, and tying it up. Raven began adding the necessary ingredients as Rorek had told her, murmuring words of power that told the elements what they needed to accomplish, and stirring it with a silver spoon.

That done, Rorek put the cloth into the bowl, making sure that all of it was covered with water. Raven then lit a fire in her hands, Malchior and Rorek standing back out of the circle, and then set it on the surface of the water. It stayed there, dancing flames resting upon the light-filled waters, waiting for her to call upon it. Raven crossed her legs and clasped her hands together in front of her, both forefingers pointing up as she began the mental steps, being sure to leave nothing out, and prepared herself for scurrying.

When she opened her eyes again, the fire danced before her for a moment, and then began to spread out, forming an image, burning it into her eyes, into her mind, feeding information into her head, and then the image of Judora came. Her long black hair up in a thick ponytail, her snake resting snug about her waist and shoulders, and she was standing, towering over a priest who appeared to be begging for his life. She saw it, and then the image left, to be replaced with the image of a cave, and then the depth of water, rising, and finally a bridge.

Raven blinked, and the flames went out, leaving the water still glowing, it's light beginning to seep over the sides of the bowl for nowhere else to go. "I don't believe it." She whispered. "All this time, she's been right next to us, laughing."

"What? Where is she?" Asked Malchior.

"Right underneath the bridge." Raven answered.

XD

"I don't think she'll expect us to attack so soon, however, this means that she's on the move. She's worked something out and has decided to send us a message. So we'll have to be on our guard." Raven told them all. "I'm not going to lie, there's a good chance that we might not survive, and if we do, with fewer numbers than we had before. But this can't wait. The longer it goes on, the more likely Judora is to find a scheme that works, or to find a way of getting much more powerful." She then spread out a few large pieces of paper that she had rolled up and showed them. "What we need is a plan of attack. Robin, this is your area of expertise. I've drawn out the entire place as best I could from the knowledge I was given, and from what I saw, this here, this cave, is the only visible exit and entrance. However, there's a port circle up here in the bridge that we could infiltrate. Both will be heavily guarded, and we want to do this as sneakily as possible, any element of surprise we can obtain might be crucial to our lives." She told him.

Robin's brow furrowed in concentration as he mused over the drawings, looking through the different levels she'd made. "I think, our best bet would be to split up into two groups, however, we need someway much more reliable than communicators in order to let each other know of our every move." He turned to Cyborg, "Didn't you say you were working on hidden ear-sets that were undetectable?" He asked.

"Yeah, but…well a few finishing touches and they'd be done but, wouldn't those be easily fouled or disrupted with magic?" He asked.

"Which is where Raven comes in. You can make them resistant to most magic spells can't you?" Robin asked.

"I think so, though Zacroma would actually be better at doing that than I would." Raven answered. Zacroma nodded.

"Alright, sounds good. But we'll need to be able to know where we all are in case we get lost and are unable to explain too much of our location." He said.

"Leave that to me." Rorek said, "I can craft jewels that'll act as maps using these drawings, and perhaps some of Raven's own memories." He said. Raven thought a moment, and then nodded.

"That would work." She said.

"Okay good. First and foremost, we need to be sure that no one gets caught alone, so we want to pare up with at least one person, if there arises a need to separate within the groups." Robin said. "And _I_ will be deciding the parings." He said, not even having to look to know that both Rorek and Malchior had grabbed one of Raven's arms. "Zacroma and Raven, Malchior and Rorek, Beast Boy and Cyborg, and Starfire and me." He said.

"Actually, Robin, that's not a good idea." Raven told him. "While we would be playing on their strengths if Malchior and Rorek were together, think of what might happen if Judora got to them. It would be a good idea to put them in separate pairs, and then in different teams. So that when one gets caught, we know to keep special tabs on the other." She said. "Also, Zacroma and Beast Boy have been training together, so they will be comfortable knowing each others movements and might make a fairly good team. That also applies with Malchior and yourself, and don't give me that look. Cyborg and Starfire seem like a fairly good team up, both have long range _and_ close range combat abilities, and Rorek and I have been training together as well, though most of it's been in intervals. Still, I remember a good while back when we both combined our powers, it had an interesting effect and it might do that again if we tried. And so the separate teams should be you, Malchior, Starfire, and Cyborg, then the rest of us. Personally, I think my team would do best to get right in the middle of it as soon as possible." She explained.

"I get it, good thinking, Raven. I get it, you and Zacroma will be together anyway, and you two have the most experience with this sort of thing. So you will take the top of the bridge tower, which will most likely lead you into the very center of the entire fortress, yeah, here it is." He said, finding the mark she drew for the circle on another page. "And this is where you saw Judora last? Likely her personal rooms will be near here, so we'll all head for this area. Alright, basic plan of action: corner Judora and go all out at once. But don't try attacking her unless Raven's with you, got it? I know Zacroma's blood will give us protection against the Blood Clan's dark spells, but that doesn't mean they don't have other spells that might harm us or other ways of fighting us. Remember the Death Wraith." They all nodded grimly, "Alright then, Cyborg, you and Zacroma get to those ear-sets, Rorek make the maps, and all of us need to use this time to prepare for what we're about to face. Try to think of anything that they might throw at us so they won't take us by surprise. The moment the items are ready, we attack." He said.

"Uh, shouldn't we wait until nightfall?" Asked Beast Boy.

"Too predictable, the sooner, the better, while she's praising herself for her little joke and letting her guard down." Malchior answered.

"Alright, lets get crack'n." Cyborg said.

XD

It was a long, silver staff, molded to look like gnarled wood, and etched with so many runes not an inch was given its own space. An almost claw-like growth of 'branches' held an orb about twice the size of her fist, which burned inside with blue black flames upon her touch. It was one of the items she still had in her secret room, the one that use to hold Malchior's book, as well as the ones he'd magiced into her room. The books were still there, but only because there was really no room for them anywhere else. And also, if her room was robbed (woe be to the complete idiot who would even _try_) those books held more powerful spells than you might find in Alabaster's, even in the 'restricted' sections.

This staff, coupled with the box of tainted rosary and Chest of Horrors (Aka: Pandora's box), were the last of the rather unfavorable items she kept in there. However, she now felt that, perhaps, she could handle its power. In fact she was almost sure of it, especially in demon form.

"Raven?"

Raven turned and saw Malchior standing in the doorway, looking rather apprehensively at the staff in her hands. "Yes?"

"Well, I was going to ask where that staff came from, and then I remembered it was in your closet, so I guess I'll leave how you got it for another time. As for why I came here, I was poking around my horde and came across this." He said, holding out a red jewel, not unlike the ones that made up her belt.

"What is it?" She asked, setting her staff against the wall.

"Dimensional stone, very rare, and very valuable. I had to do a little work to make so that it fits in your belt, but it's like a sub-space pocket, only in a gem so you don't have to risk loosing anything or have to make one." He explained. "It'll probably come in handy for that." He said, nodding to the staff.

"Yes it will, thanks a lot." Raven said, taking the jewel and examining it. She then replaced it with one of the gems on her belt, finding it to be a perfect match. "Wow, how'd you know what size and shape to make it?" She asked.

"What, you think my eyes stay on your face when I stare at you?" SMACK! "Okay yeah, I guess I deserved that." He said, rubbing the red hand mark on his cheek.

Raven gave him a 'yes you _did_' look, and then went over to retrieve the staff. "Previously, I couldn't control this, but now I think I can. I'm just going to take it along, as a backup in case something goes wrong. Now that I have the gem, I should probably take a few other things as well." She said, musing about her room. "But I don't know what would be useful _against_ Judora."

"Some sort of knife would be good, in case you want to transform swiftly." Malchior suggested. "A string of power jewels, some of that baru dust, prayer beads, maybe a crucifix, and a bottle of my blood, Rorek's blood, Zacroma's blood, and Robin's blood." He said, naming off things he could think of.

"Um, _why_?" She asked.

"Mine and Rorek's in case you need extra power and neither of us are around, Zacroma's in case there's an instance that you sort of need it, you know, to do the impossible with and all, and Robin's because he's the only full human here, and you might need it to use against some spells or circles." He explained.

But Raven shook her head, "Too late, you'll need your strength, all of you. The blood I'd need for it to matter at all would leave you slightly breathless, and we all need our strength for this." She said.

"I know, that's why I got them ahead of time." He said, bringing out four glass bottles, each with a rounded bottom half the size of her fist, filled up with blood and labeled. "Yesterday I had Robin and Zacroma contribute. Robin had to stay down for a bit, but Zacroma's use to it by now so she got right back up on her feet." He said, handing them too her.

Raven sighed and smiled, "What would I do without you?" She asked, willing them into the jewel along with the staff.

"Probably go mad for lack of a sexy male to fawn over you." He said, bringing his arms around her from the side and nibble on her ear.

She sighed again, and just let him, because what she was about to tell him next wasn't going to be easy. "Malchior,"

"Yeeeees?" He asked seductively.

"Listen," She told him firmly, turning her head so she could look into his eyes and convay the seriousness of the situation to him that way, "There's a good chance…well, we don't know what Judora's thought up, and we don't know if this is really it or not. This could be just another battle, though I hope it isn't. But along the way, there's a chance I might…revert, back to my demon self. Or rather, I will become the demon I saw in my dreams, the one without conscious or, really, soul. If that happens, if there is no immediate cure,"

"No." He said firmly, grabbing her by the shoulders and apparently having figured out what she was about to ask him.

"If I turn into that thing there's very little chance I'll be able to turn back. It'll only happen if Zacroma somehow dies or is transported to another world or dimension, and even then, something more powerful than hangman's blood might be needed to make me go that far, but if it happens, I seriously can't think of any way for it to reverse." She said.

"It's not going to happen." He told her.

"But what if it _does_!" She snapped, "These dreams, it was a warning, I know it was some sort of premonition. If it comes true, you have to—"

"I'm not going to do it, Raven, I refuse." He said forcefully.

"You and Rorek will be the only ones capable of—"

"I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT!" He roared.

"YOU WON'T HAVE ANY CHOICE IN THE MATTER!" She came back with just as much force. "IT'LL EITHER BE KILL ME, OR DIE, BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FREND OR FOE!"

"I'd rather die!"

"You don't have the right to make that kind of decision! You're not the only one who's going to die, the whole world will—"

"To hell with the 'whole world'! What do I care if a bunch of humans—"

"Are you including Zacroma in this 'bunch of humans'! And Beast Boy, and Robin, and Starfire, and Cyborg! BECAUSE THEY'LL ALL DIE IF YOU DON'T KILL ME!" She yelled.

Malchior's mouth stayed open, as if he were going to say something, but he couldn't. He just stared at her with an expression of shock on his face, as though she'd hit him somewhere that it really hurt and he couldn't understand why. His shock turned into helplessness, and he just stared at her, but she was staring right back at him, apologetic, but firm. Then something happened that never did before, tears were beginning to well up in his eyes, and fall down his cheeks.

The next moment, he snatched her up into his arms, and buried his face in her shoulder, not making a sound, but shaking just enough that she could feel it. Raven's own emotions broke through her eyes and ran down her cheeks as she clutched Malchior, holding on tightly.

Soon another pair of arms was around her form, and another set of wet eyes were pressed against the cloth of her shoulder. It was a while before they were able to pull themselves together, and by then, the Titans were ready to go.

There was a feeling of finality in the air as Rorek taught them how to use the jewels he crafted and Cyborg showed them how the ear-sets worked. As if everyone was expecting this to be, not only the battle of the century, but the last, for them. And Raven couldn't help but feel that, once this was over, if they won, it would be at a heavy price.

XP

A/N: Okay, I'm almost crying myself here so I can't write anything funny. I'm being torn between preventing character death and making the entire thing _realistic_. I mean, if this was reality, chances are some of them _are_ going to die, but I can't stand the thought of losing anyone! …wait a minute, (is struck with _brilliant_ idea) heyyyyyy, that might work! Ahem, anyway, these chapters have been coming a little slower because I _know_ that after the next chapter comes out, I will have no choice but to update every 1 to 2 days because it's gonna be cliffies galore. Also, I've been tweaking the rough draft I have in my head around a bit and figuring out what's gonna happen and how I'm gonna do it. As you might have guessed, this is gonna be more than just a simple battle. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ahem, anyways, on to the reviews! And btw, yes I am feeling better, _much_ better.

Samael Archon: DARN YOU! Where'd you get that! I thought I made sure everyone capable of extracting dragon's bane from an ore died (not by my direct hand of course)! It must be an old suite, oh well. Good luck finding her, haha!

Jemerik: Heheheh, The Joker kinda came out of nowhere, I was looking for a way to fill up space and be funny about it. I think I did a pretty decent job of it too, haha!

Untrustworthyangel: All is forgiven, and I myself would like to apologize for the outburst, again, because it was kind of out of line as well. I was just having a really bad time for some reason. And I can understand how it must feel to have teachers hammering proper grammar and spelling into your head for a while. So we can blame it all on _them_ now! I am glade you've been reading my stories, and appreciate your words of kindness in that last review.

You guys have been great about reviewing so far, I'm so happy, waaaaaaaaaaa! Again I'd like to point out that the only reason I don't poast a response to your review, if you see none, is because what I might have to say to it would be less than a real sentence. Just so no one feels I'm ignoring them!

Ja ne


	25. Friends and Foes

A/N: AND HERE WE GO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—okay I'll stop now…

XP

Raven, Rorek, Zacroma, and Beast Boy flew from the top of the T-Tower and headed for the bridge. In broad daylight, it was likely they'd be seen coming, but hopefully whoever was guarding that spot would think they were off on another mission and wouldn't sound whatever alarm they might have set up. The rest, Robin's team, had used the underwater exit, so they wouldn't be seen unless someone was keeping a watch out under the water. They'd all been given bubble heads by Malchior, so there wouldn't be a problem with that.

"When we get there we'll need to attack as swiftly and as directly as we can. Likely they've already seen us if they're watching." Raven called.

"How do we get in?" Beast Boy asked, morphing his head back to normal so he could talk.

"There." Raven answered as they neared the tower. She pointed to a window, which was indeed big enough for a grown man to fit into easily. She directed their flight a little out of the view of it so it might not be so obvious, but the moment they neared, she zipped back and barged right in.

She'd expected it to be guarded, expected there to be a cry of alarm, a shout, _something_. But there wasn't, there weren't even _people_ there. It was obviously an area that was being used for _something_, but there was no sign of what. Not even a circle.

"There has to be something here." Raven said, getting to her knees in order feel around.

"No, nothing. Crap! I'll bet it's a nighttime only port!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"Change of plans, we're coming down with you guys." Rorek said, pushing the button on his ear set to make it pick up his voice. Raven could hear it in her own set, and she could also hear Robin's reply.

"Alright, but hurry up. We're already inside the cave and I don't know how long we can wait if we want to keep ourselves unnoticed." He said in a hushed voice.

"I'll teleport." Raven said, pressing her own ear set. Everyone joined hands, and, focusing, she transported them easily, since she knew the entire layout in her mind.

"Ouch!" Someone exclaimed.

"Sorry!"

"Ssssssh!"

"Who's that? Is that you guys?"

"Yes." Raven answered. There was a small clicking noise, and suddenly the area was filled with a soft light, coming from Zacroma's hands.

"There." She whispered, allowing the sphere to levitate above them.

"Where'd you get that?" Asked Beast Boy.

"I made it, just now." She answered, as if this should be obvious.

"Okay the passage is pretty narrow for a good while, Rorek and I will take the lead, and if we meet anyone leave them to us for now." Raven told them all.

"Right." Robin nodded.

"Man, I hate it when plans get screwed up." Beast Boy muttered as they started to run, Zacroma's light straying a good ways behind them, keeping up enough that those who couldn't see well in the dark wouldn't trip over the feet of the ones in front of them, but far enough that if someone saw it coming, it'd be too late.

They met no one, none. Not even when the narrow pathway opened up into a large hall with many doors did they see anyone. "Security's slack around here during the daytime." Robin commented.

"Don't let your guard down, it could be a trick, or they could all be in another part of the fortress." Malchior said.

"Uh, okay question, how does she keep building huge fortresses where there should be nothing? I mean, were all these Blood Clan hideouts to begin with or what?" Beast Boy asked.

"That's…a good question." Zacroma said.

"The quickest way to where Judora was last I saw her is through that door." Raven said, pointing to the middle door on the left of them.

"Right."

She lead them towards it, Beast Boy rushing foreward to grab the doorknob. "NO DON'T!" Malchior and Rorek yelled at the same time, but it was too late. A circle of blood appeared on the door, and waves of dark green magic were surrounding it, going up from the handle and then around his arm. He cried out in surprise.

"Beast Boy!" Raven and Zacroma exclaimed, both lunging for him, but both Malchior and Rorek held them back.

"It's no use, you'll just get sucked in as well!" Malchior said just as the darkness drug Beast Boy inside of it.

"No! Beast Boy!" Zacroma exclaimed, slipping out of Malchior's grip and grabbing the door handle, but it didn't suck her in, instead she was able to open it and fling the door to the side. "Beast Boy!" She called into the dark hallway.

A cruel, blood freezing laugh answered her. "Well that was certainly easy. One down, four to go. Better watch your step!" Judora's voice sounded, echoing throughout the hall as her laughter started up again.

"Where are you, coward?" Raven demanded. "What have you done with Beast Boy!"

"Hmmm, wouldn't _you_ like to know? Don't worry, though, I've just sent him to rendezvous with an old friend is all." She answered, and she began laughing again, only this time it faded, marking the end of the 'conversation', if you can call it that.

"What does she mean, 'an old friend'?" Asked Rorek.

"No clue." Raven answered, gritting her teeth together. "Come on, no choice now but to go forward. We'll use another door though." She said, thinking a moment. "This one." She pointed to the far door on the other side. "_Retexo_!" She commanded in case there was another spell. There wasn't, so she opened the door, and led the way along the hall.

XD

Beast Boy opened his eyes, blinking, and gingerly got to his feet, looking around. He appeared to be outside but, that wasn't right. No, it looked like there was a ceiling really high up because it was dark, and it was currently daytime. So then, why was he surrounded by rocky terrain? He could see a few small mesas, plateaus, and complicated formations that he might have been able to enjoy climbing and exploring, had the situation not been so dire.

The last thing he remembered, was grabbing hold of a doorknob, and then being sucked in, "Crap! I'm not in a doorknob am I!" He exclaimed. "Weird, this isn't exactly how I imagined the inside of a doorknob to look like." He said to himself. He pressed the button on his headset, "Guys? Guys where are you? I'm in some kind of dark room and…hello? Anyone?" he asked. He waited for a response, but got none. "_Crap_." He hissed.

Then suddenly, the lights all snapped on, illuminating the entire area as brightly as if it were day. Beast Boy had to shield his eyes for a minute, but then he saw something, a figure standing high up on a plateau, looking down at him. It was dark, because the lightening was to their back, but there was no mistaking who it was. Blond hair cascading down her shoulders, the form of a girl wearing a spandex top and baggy parachute pants, with a set of goggles on her head.

"T-Terra!" Beast Boy gasped, unable to believe his eyes. "Terra, what are you doing here!" He exclaimed. He thought he saw her mouth open and close, but he couldn't hear any words. Instead, she rose her hands to the air, and the ground beneath Beast Boy began to shake, and rise, coming over him like a tidal wave of earth. Swiftly, he transformed into a cheetah and dodged out of the way. "What are you doing! It's me, Beast Boy!" He cried, but was only met with another attack, this time of flying chunks of rock. He transformed into an elf, and began to dodge them with ease and grace. "Are you working for Judora now! Is that it? First Slade and now Judora, I thought you learned your lesson!" He cried in frustration, jumping from formation to formation, attempting to get closer to her.

He landed on a platform not far from her, glaring. "What happened, did you sell yourself to Judora in order to obtain freedom!" He demanded, jumping just in time to avoid being sent into the ground with the platform. Another tidal wave was coming at him, but he transformed into a small dragon in order to dodge it in the air. However it succeeded in pushing him farther away from Terra, who rose into the air on a platform of earth.

"Talk to me!" He yelled, turning back into an elf.

But she couldn't, and as the angle of the light put her into greater relief, he understood. He saw her face, stained with still flowing tears, an expression of helplessness, pleading, suffering, and then he saw the snake. Wrapped around her neck, with it's teeth sunk deep into her throat.

XD

"_Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos_!"

"_Animatus, Specula, Aeternitus_!"

"_Atrum, Exspes, Mortis_!"

The three powers combined, one a black wave lined with white, the second fully white, and the last fully black. The powers seemed to merge, first turning silver, and then gold. The effect was disastrous, the blood priests and priestesses who'd tried to destroy them all by combining their spells died in an instant. An entire congregation of the Church of Blood, destroyed in an instant. "Well, that takes care of that for a while. Unfortunately I imagine we'll have demons to face next." Raven said with a frown.

The Titans were able to snap out of being amazed fairly swiftly. "Dang, alright where to next?" Cyborg asked, readying his cannon.

"There." Answered Raven, pointing to a door, which could hardly be called a door anymore, more like a heep of splintered wood that somehow managed to keep the opening from being in full view.

"Alright," He said, kicking it down so that the way was clear. He looked around inside suspiciously, and just as he seemed ready to deem the coast clear, he let out a cry of surprise.

"Cyborg!" The Titans cried, as he suddenly disappeared in a flash of red light. Raven ran to the doorway, and saw a small creature with a bat-like head and a body like some strange hairless monkey climbing up the wall, laughing as it disappeared through the roof before Raven could destroy it with a blast of dark lightening.

"She's picking us off one by one." Robin said, "Until she has Raven alone."

"What do we do!" Zacroma exclaimed.

"Stay close together and—" Raven began, turning around, but suddenly Starfire screamed. That same little demon had thrown a ball of red light at her, and she disappeared the same way Cyborg had. "Oh no you don't!" She exclaimed, "_Evincio_!" She exclaimed, and a dark thread of power shot from her hand, wrapped around the demon, and bound it before it could get away again.

"Little b$$$." Malchior growled, stamping on the thing until it was a mess of dark blood and black bones. Zacroma spread some holy water over it, and the body vanished in a burst of white flames.

"Crap." Robin muttered, as he and Zacroma shuffled closer to Raven and Malchior. "This is _not_ good."

Raven grabbed Robin's arm while Malchior took Zacroma's. "There's nothing we can do but find Judora, and pray they aren't dead." Malchior said, clenching his teeth.

XD

Cyborg coughed, spitting out the mouthful of water he'd swallowed with much difficulty. Soon, though his automatic system kicked in and flushed it all out for him, allowing him to collect himself and get his bearings strait. Unfortunately, all he could make out was that he was in an indoor swimming pool, but that didn't seem right. It was dark, but he could tell that there was water everywhere. His robotic eye kicked in, and he saw a few turrets, currently gushing water out from all sides. He grimaced, realizing what Judora's plan probably was. But why the heck did she feel the need to drown him? That didn't make much sense.

"We meet again, Cyborg." His entire body went rigid, every sensor in his body had kicked into overdrive with alarm, causing his muscles to broaden and his body to lighten. He turned around, and found himself looking at the form of a man, balding with age and with a semi-ring around his head of gray, pointed hair. His narrowed, bird like face, smirking down at him from atop a high turret, also gushing with water. The light's turned on, and he could see that, while he still had the robotic parts he'd installed in himself, they were now blue, and…_altered_.

"Blood!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Incorrect! A demerit for you! You see, I took that name without knowing that it was a much more, _involved_ title. I've learned from this mistake, and as I'm no where near worthy enough to be the true Brother Blood, you now must call me Headmaster, and only Headmaster. Understand?" 'Brother Blood' asked.

"Yeah, whatever, _Headcase_. What the heck are you doing working for Judora!" He demanded.

"Well, you see that _charming_ woman has offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. I can peruse my experiments with her limitless resources, granting her my findings and all of that, while teaching my own school of priests and priestesses to become great. She even gave me this lovely accessory to wear." He said, pulling down a black collar to reveal a small green and red snake wrapped around his neck, it's teeth sinking into the flesh and seeming to be pulsing, putting something in, or taking something out, it was hard to tell.

"What have you _done_?" Cyborg asked, shocked with how far even _he_ had gone.

"Not only does it give me a direct connection to Lady Judora, but it allows me to do things like this." He answered, raising the collar back to his neck, and then lifting his hand to the side.

Cyborg turned to see where 'Headmaster' had been looking, and found he was staring down a growing tidal wave (of water this time, duh). _Crap…_

XD

"Oh dear, this can not bode well." Starfire said to herself, she fitted a bolt of her lightening into her bow, causing it to turn into an emerald green arrow, and looked around her defensively. She was in a very unremarkable room, the only thing it had going for it was the amount of space it seemed to have. She began looking for an exit, but it didn't seem there was one.

Suddenly something came at her from the corner of her eye. Starfire rounded, shielded herself from the disk of dark energy using the bow, and then shot her arrow at whatever had attacked her, but the figure darted out of the way and her arrow only made a dent in the wall. "Who—" She began, but more disks were shooting at her, and she used her bow to defend herself against each one of them. Then a huge blast of energy came at her, one that she couldn't entirely block with the bow. It sent her down, so that she hit the ground fairly hard, but still landed on her feet.

Then the lights threw her assailant into focus, long black hair, glowing red eyes, black tankini top and miniskirt with silver armor underneath. "Blackfire!" Starfire exclaimed, gasping in shock. But there was a difference, instead of the neck armor she usually had on, there was a red and green snake wrapped around it, it's teeth biting into her neck. "You are under the tainted woman's control!" She cried.

Blackfire's teeth clenched as she speed for Starfire, she grabbed her little sister about the shoulders and then threw her into one of the walls. "Good, you figured it out." She said through her teeth. "Now, sister dearest, if you don't get this snake off my neck this instant I am going to kill you. And not _just_ because I want to." She hissed, flying after Starfire with two blasts of energy ready. But Starfire had readied an arrow in her bow, and shot it at her sister. The force knocked her back easily, sending _her_ into the wall this time.

"I shall do my best to save you sister!" She declared.

"How heroic. Watch out, the snake's giving my body a lot of power, which means I'm about to shoot a really powerful attack at you again." Blackfire warned.

"Eep!" Starfire squeaked, flying out of the way just as a huge sphere of black and violet energy shot after her.

"I can't believe I'm trusting her. Not like I have a choice." Blackfire muttered as her body shot after Starfire once again.

XD

"It's a demon." Rorek whispered, taking in the scenes around him by breathing deeply through his uncovered nose, "It has to be, that's not a human scent." He said, putting the scarf back over his face.

"Rosary everyone." Zacroma said, handing some beads to everyone except Raven, who'd since transformed into a demon herself.

"**I should probably take care of it myself, but I don't think leaving you alone would be a good idea. Separation will make it easy for Judora to put a circle beneath our feet."** Raven told them. **"She wants us all apart, save for maybe Rorek and Malchior, and so that's the last thing we need. Her next target will probably be Robin, judging from her pattern so far, that means—"**

"Raven, look out!" Malchior cried, lunging after her. But it was too late, the demon, a high demon judging from his more humanoid form and the markings all over his body, had appeared in a flash, grabbed Raven, and disappeared just as swiftly.

"So much for a pattern." Zacroma squeaked, shaking with fear as the same laughter echoed through the corridor.

"True, I was planning to take Sir Robin next, but rosary is such a nuisance, even for a demon as powerful as Shijuko. However this works out rather nicely." Judora said.

"D#$ it!" Malchior swore.

"Ah, ah, ah, staying in one place for too long isn't a good idea." Judora said. The next moment Robin uttered a cry, and the others whirled around to find him being sucked into a circle that had appeared beneath his feet.

"Robin no!" Zacroma exclaimed, she lunged for him, but suddenly found herself being grabbed by something black green in the form of hands.

"Zacroma!" Malchior exclaimed, grabbing her as Rorek tried to destroy the hands with some spells.

"Don't let go." Zacroma cried as her feet began to sink into the wall, in spit of Malchior's hold on her.

"How touching. The years in that book have made you soft, Malchior." Taunted Judora.

"Shut up, b! I swear I'm going to kill you!" He yelled angrily to the ceiling. Now her waist was in the wall. He used his foot to get some leverage, and held on tightly, but soon she was starting to scream as her skin began to tear with the tension. "No!" He cried, Rorek was still trying to destroy the hands, but they seemed to be made out of the shadow, and he couldn't even get a hold on one.

"It's no use, I'm sorry." Zacroma said, she looked at him, tears in her eyes, and let go.

"No!" Malchior exclaimed, but Judora's laughter drowned him out. He and Rorek looked down and saw, to neither of their surprise, a circle appearing in blood. The next moment, they were being transported somewhere else, just like the rest of them. Unfortunately, this 'somewhere else' happened to include Judora as well.

XD

Zacroma flinched, picking herself up off the ground, clutching at the spots in her side where her skin had torn open to hold in as much blood as she could. Thankfully they weren't exactly cuts, and this was possible for the loss of any blood in this place would be a bad thing, especially if Judora got a hold of it and discovered what it really was. She waited a moment, focusing her energy on healing her wounds, and then let herself look up to see where she was.

The sight that greeted her had to be one of the strangest ones she'd witnessed. It looked like she was in some sort of construction site, where only the skeleton of a building had been made and there was lots and lots of more materials about such as wooden boards, tool boxes, and other such items. Except, that everything that was suppose to be metal, had been replaced with what looked to be glass, tempered glass of course, any other would break under such strain. "What tha—" She muttered, staring up in amazement. Then suddenly one of the glass tool boxes right above her moved and would have hit her very hard on the head, had she not been looking up at it. "Oh I get it, lots of stuff to fall on me, correct?" She asked.

"Exactly." Said a familiar, and annoying voice from behind her. Zacroma turned, and found all three of her former partners in crime standing there, each with a snake wrapped around their necks, the teeth digging into the flesh and seeming to suck greedily. Zacroma glared at them all, and then her expression fell and she narrowed her eyes. None of them seemed to appear to be very happy with this arrangement. Well, _she_ certainly wouldn't be either.

"You'd better run, Zacroma," Jinx said, "I don't like you, and I'd be happy to see you go, but this isn't right." She said, as all three of them made their moves. Jinx began making more things fall from above, Gizmo was preparing a laser blast, and Mammoth had unearthed a huge rock he was either going to throw at her, or use to make the whole structure come crashing down on her head.

"If I can, I promise I'll save you." Zacroma said, flying swiftly to get out of the structure as quickly as she could.

XD

Robin grimaced, and gathered himself up, staring hopelessly around the dark room he'd found himself in. Swiftly, he rummaged through his utility belt for a flashlight, but just as he was doing so, the lights came on, and what he saw nearly caused him to drop his sword.

It was Slade, but, he was different. his body turned into shades of red, and an 'S' engraved on his forehead, he looked far more formidable than he use to. Robin was willing to bet anything he'd made a deal with Judora, and that he was currently running on her dark magic. What sort of powers he had, Robin had the feeling he was going to find out. He crouched and clutched his sword in both hands, remembering the stance Malchior had taught him.

"Well, well, well, we finally meet again. I've been wondering when I'd get the chance to show you my new powers." He said silkily.

"Let me guess, you sold yourself to Judora in order to use them?" Robin asked scathingly.

"Heheheh," he chuckled, "Only partly right. You see, unlike the others I have both power and control. Judora was very impressed with the information I was able to give her about you and your little friends, she seemed to think I deserved a more honorable position than having a snake attached to my neck." He said.

"_What_! What others, what are you talking about!" Robin demanded, his heart pounding in his ears.

"Our dear Terra is one, Starfire's sister Blackfire, Headmaster, and the three top members of H.I.V.E. Only Headmaster has been able to delude himself into thinking he's really in control, the rest have figured it out I believe." He answered, marking them down with his fingers.

"Who's 'Headmaster'?" Robin asked.

"Formerly known as 'Brother Blood', Cyborg's friend. What, do you think you're the only one who gets to die by their past enemies? Well, friend in Beast Boy's case." Slade answered.

"_What_?" Robin's eyes widened.

"It's a moonless night tonight, and your death will bring the Devil's Daughter back to the Blood Clan." He said. "Now we fight, Robin, but this time, your life means nothing to me." He then formed a sphere of fire in his hands, and shot it at Robin, who was able to block with the sword just in time and jump out of the way of another. "You've improved, I can tell. Too bad." Slade sighed, and then he raised his hands. The ground beneath them separated, and a stream of lava formed there. In fact the entire terrain was becoming like a volcanic danger zone.

Robin grimaced, but found that he wasn't being hurt by the spurts of lava that should have sprinkled him. He took this as a good sign, and focused his attention on Slade. "It's you who dies today, Slade." He said, positioning his sword to the side of him, and then running, full speed ahead. His feet didn't even feel the lava as he crossed over it, causing Slade's eye to widen in shock. He recovered just in time, however, to get his entire arm sliced off by Robin's sword.

"That sword," He gasped, jumping out of the way of another attack.

Robin smirked triumphantly at his long-time enemy, "You like it? Raven made it." He said, and he lunged again.

XP

A/N: And so begins the finale battle, battles, collection of stuff, yeah, ahem, anyways! I told you guys I'd bring those baddies back! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And yes, evil cliffhanger, I know, but you'll be having a lot of those for a while, unfortunately. Judora's not gonna go down quietly, as we all know. Also very unfortunate, this is gonna be a time period where I might have to go back and redo a few chapters before posting them. I will try to get them out every other day, but I can't make any promises. As you can clearly tell, I'm planning something really big and want to be sure I get it all right.

Samael Archon: Not here! She has left, haha! And I don't know where she is so no point in asking me. And yes, the bad guys _are_ more powerful, obviously.

Silverwinged-Raven: I dunno, maybe I'll keep Judora in there as a punching bag or something, hehehehehhahahAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—ahem. And yes I know that happens in DBZ, I use to be a die hard DBZ fan, until the bad guys became so ridiculous it hurt to watch it, well, I guess they've always been ridiculous, and the dubbed really sucks. I suppose I have matured past the need for senseless violence, though it's nice once and a while. Ahem, _anyway_, I would do that, except I have no dragon balls, you see where my problem is here. Sure I could kill everyone, and then have the next one where Raven and Malorek go off to the DBZ dimension to find all the Dragon Balls and wish their friends back to life…but, no. Let's not. It does make a funny mental picture though, can you imagine Raven having Vegita under a binding spell and him unable to do a _thing_ about it because physical strength doesn't do jack for it? And _Malorek_, whooo! He'd have a _field_ day…okay I'll stop now.

...: Just use a fake name, everyone does! And a half angel can die, obviously because they usually don't live very long, but full angels can't because they're above death or something like that I suppose. And yes, my idea is brilliant if I do say so myself.

Me: AH HA! YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON WHO HAS CAUGHT THAT! I HONNOR YOU MY BRETHRIN! Yes, he was _sorta kinda_ referring to that, you see at the time they really didn't know, but they had suspicions. Malchior said that, half as a way of saying, 'we lost one girl, let's not lose this one', and half insinuating that Raven was/might have been/could be Avelona. That suspicion was sort of refuted later, of course, and then found to be true. So yes, that _was_ a hint. But no one seemed to have gotten it but you! Congratulations!

Trickster's-Lulaby: This is in response to your review of Chapter 18. Yes, the plot bunnies do seem to congregate under my chair, Yume likes to chase them around sometimes so they get a lot of exercise. Lol. But anyway, most of my stuff turns out as a basic idea, a basic idea that I muse over during times, both at the computer desk and not, and I come up with stuff to put into it. I come up with a plot to this basic idea, then I come up with twists to this plot, figure out ways of making things seem to be different from the way they really are, adding the extra flavor of minor character backgrounds linking, and coming up with things that are sometimes only vaguely hinted at, but are so off the wall or _different_ that no one expects them (Avelona being raised by a drow female and having a drow sister who hated her guts is an example of this). Also, it helps to have your readers spot holes that you can turn to your advantage and merge with the plot. Details, details, details!

Well, that's about it. As for the character death, I _told_ you guys I had a brilliant idea. And a brilliant idea it is. You're gonna have to trust me on this!


	26. The White Cloak

A/N: Uuuuuuuuh…I have nothing to say here because I'm in a bit of a hurry so, yeah. R&R.

XP

"Terra, you have to fight it! Come on!" Beast Boy cried, but in vain. The situation didn't look good for him right now, well, it didn't look very hunky dory from the start, but now it was really bad. He was out of breath, exhausted both from the fight, and from the effort he had to put into transforming into the creatures of power. He'd known before that it required a lot more from him to transform using the mask, but at the time he wasn't sure just how much it took out of him, _staying_ in those forms for a while.

There were tall formations on practically every side of him, and Terra was almost there, the moment she saw him he was a gonner for sure. He hardly had any more energy to jump out of the area, much less dig himself out of a pile of earth before he suffocated. Sure enough, there she was, a huge stake of hardened earth hovering just above her hand. There was nowhere for him to run, nowhere to hide.

It was over.

"Terra, Zacroma, Raven, I'm sorry." He whispered, but then he blinked. There was an inhuman shrieking sound, and suddenly the stake fell and turned into a pile of harmless dirt not too far from him, and then the platform beneath Terra dissolved as well, leaving her to fall down. Beast Boy pushed himself off the wall of dirt and ran after her, just barely managing to catch her before he himself fell. "T-Terra!" He gasped.

Groaning, she pulled herself up, "B-Beast Boy…" She breathed, blinking, looking at him as though she were only just really seeing him. "I-is that…is that_ you_?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"Hm? Of course it's…oh, yeah, it's me." He said, laughing. _Forgot I was an elf._ He thought. "Cool new form huh? Terra?" He asked as she buried her face in her hands.

"I, I'm sorry! I couldn't, I couldn't do anything! I had no control over myself, none at all! I couldn't even fight against it!" She burst, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hey, it's okay, you were being controlled by Judora, there was nothing you could have done but…how'd you, you know, get _un_-controlled?" He asked.

She jerked up, as if suddenly realizing this herself, "I, I don't know, didn't you—?" He shook his head.

"The snake!" Beast Boy exclaimed, standing up and looking around. Terra took a deep breath, and lifted the earth beneath them into the air so that they could look for it over the wall and the spikes. "There!" he exclaimed, seeing something unusual on the ground.

It was the snake, but it was…well, dead. Black as though it had been burned, and not moving an inch. Beast Boy nudged it with his foot, and it suddenly turned into a pile of ash, causing him to jump back. "But what…what caused it?" He asked.

"I, I don't know." Terra answered, just as confused.

"Did you see something odd just before it happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"Um…" She considered, but shook her head.

"What, what is it?"

"All I remember, is…well, something white. I saw something white out of the corner of my eye." She answered.

"Did it look like a shirt, or a dress?" Asked Beast Boy.

"I don't know, I only saw a little, but it could have been the trick of the light. Why?" She asked.

"Raven's dreams. She's been having dreams, and there was a white dress or shirt, some sort of white cloth in them." He answered. "That could be…but, what would it mean? Oh well, there's no time. Do you know where the exit is?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes, each of the Titans were to be sent into another room, and then we were suppose to drag them, dead, through a passage up there." She answered pointing. "You have to push it in the right place to open up, for here anyway."

"Other Titans?"

"Yes, Slade, Blackfire, H.I.V.E. and some guy named Headmaster is here." She answered.

"Right, let's get going then! Hopefully we'll be able to meet up with the others as well." He said.

XD

Cyborg smirked to himself, as he clung to one of the turrets to keep him under the water, otherwise this new metal would cause him to float. Headmaster didn't know he could breath under water, frankly, neither did Cyborg until it became necessary to do so. Likely the nut job was laughing and congratulating himself on his victory. Surely he'd have drowned by now! Cyborg had to fight to keep himself from laughing aloud, likely his enemy was looking for signs of him, and a few air bubbles might just give him away.

He waited a few more minutes, and then saw Headmaster dive into the water not too far from him. He hid behind the turret and waited for his foe to swim right beside him. He let go of the turret, allowing his feet to clutch what they could, and prepared his super blaster. Either the noise or the light must have attracted Headmaster's attention, for he turned, but too late.

Cyborg let go of the ground and let himself float to the surface of the water. He came up with a laugh, "Haha! How'd you like that!" He asked. "OH YEAH! I THOUGHT SO!" He exclaimed when the fried and, probably dead, body of Headmaster floated to the surface as well. "Now to get out of here, huh?" he turned, and to his amazement there was an exit, a few inches above the water level, and utterly obvious. "When did that get there!" He demanded, barating himself for not noticing. "Oh well." He sighed, swimming forward to reach it.

XD

"Okay, now dodge to the left, no you're other left! Okay you're right, no your other right! Gublash, are you even _trying_!" Blackfire demanded.

"This is not as easy as it may seem, especially since you are distracting me very much." Starfire answered, firing another arrow.

"Keshnigdab! And when did your blasts become so powerful!" Blackfire demanded as her body found it hard to pull herself back up after that fifth arrow. "Never mind, hurry up and get the snake! It'll take it only a second to regenerate my body." She ordered.

"Right!" Starfire said, flying swiftly towards her sister, her hand outstreatched.

"Gah! Too late!" Blackfire cried out as she prepared a blast. However, Starfire had expected this, and fitted another arrow into her bow. As the blast came after her, she shot. The arrow pierced through the blast and, hit the snake dead on.

It released Blackfire in order to let out an inhuman shriek, and then fell of her neck, bursting into a ball of green flames. Blackfire crumbled to the ground, cursing in her native language as she gave the snake a rather unneeded blast from her eyes. "Thanks." She said, though her tone was still a little grudging.

"We have been on opposite sides in the past, pitting ourselves against each other, but perhaps just this once we might work together towards a common goal. You wish to repay the Snake Woman for this atrocity do you not?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah, alright. The exit is way up there, but you have to hit it in the right place." Blackfire said. Starfire fitted an arrow in her bow and shot, completely destroying the hidden door that might have hindered their path. "Or do that. Where _did_ you get that bow by the way?" The darker sibling questioned.

Starfire smiled, "Friend Raven crafted it and gave it to me." She answered.

"Uh whatever. By the way, just so there's no mistaking, after this is all over we're still enemies, alright?" Blackfire pointed out, jabbing a finger at her sister.

But Starfire smiled, "Of course. I expected no less." She said.

Blackfire sweatdropped, "And _this_ would be why we don't get along." She muttered under her breath.

XD

"What's the matter Slade!" Robin taunted, running after his foe, "Scared of my little knife? How does it feel when the rolls have switched and _I_ have the advantage over _you_?" He called.

Suddenly Slade turned around, and a huge blast of fire shot at Robin, who only smirked and blocked it with his sword. The flames barely even touched the sword, spreading out around him for nowhere else to go, and practically creating a wall about him for a moment. He had one second to register the fact that Slade was right in front of him, before the sword was knocked out of his hands, and thrown across the battle field.

Robin fell back, coughing and hacking, without stopping. The fumes of the volcanic terrain had hit him like a tone of bricks, and the heat, the heat! It was _unbearable_. But he still had some protection, he knew. While his lungs were protesting loudly, his eyes watering, and his brow beginning to drip with sweat, he could still bring himself up, he wasn't all that dizzy quite yet.

"You let your guard down." Slade said in an admonishing tone. "Got too cocky, that was always you're weakness. Goodbye Robin." He said. Robin could only just make out that he was about to shoot another fireball, one that would surely kill him in this state, but his eyes were watering too much, and the soot from the area was getting into them in spite of his mask. He closed them, arms in front of his face, and waited.

But instead of feeling an unbearable burning sensation, he heard Slade shout in surprise, a shout that was almost sickeningly cut off. Robin forced his eyes open. There was Slade, his body a barely distinct form of melted metal, for no apparent reason. Robin looked up and around wildly, trying to figure out what had happened, and saw, to his surprise, a brief image of something white, but the moment he looked, it was gone. "White cloth?" he whispered, still staring at the place in the air where it had been. _Raven's dream_. He thought, as he noticed the terrain was becoming normal again, the fire and lava were disappearing, and he had a clear path to the sword.

"Whoever you are, thanks." He said to the empty space as he picked the sword back up. Suddenly he heard something being hit behind him, and he whirled around, only to see a hidden passageway being opened up in the wall. _That's convenient._ He thought. But he didn't ask questions. Whoever had just saved him probably had a good reason not to reveal themselves, and for now he was going to trust them.

XD

_God,_ Zacroma prayed, barely able to dodge the pile of glass materials that had come down on her, _I haven't asked you for much._ She formed a mirror in her hand which caused Gizmo's laser beam to shoot back at him. _All my life, I have tried to do what I trusted to be Your will._ She turned the mirror up over her head as a makeshift shield, thankfully it was stronger than the glass toolbox that was trying to give her a concussion. _I know I've involved myself in earthly things, acting like a human when I know I'm not. But I felt that, You must have some love for me as well, that I must be important to you, because you let me live, and continued to do so._

A mighty crash sounded the fall of the next structure, courtesy of Mammoth. Zacroma's heart sped up as she narrowly dodged countless sections of glass, all threatening to take her down and burry her. _I swore my life to you, I swore I would follow your will, and I have not once strayed from it. And I know it was your will, because you blessed me for it, as you would have if I were fully human, and I never even asked, not once, for my own happiness._ She was nearly hit by another of Gizmo's laser beams, and the waves coming from Jinx were becoming so powerful, she was getting pushed into the next structure. She doubted she'd be so lucky in this one, she knew it was coming to an end.

But please, please! Don't let this happen, don't let it end like this! I know that if I die, Judora will be able to turn Raven into a full demon. I don't ask for my life for myself, but for her. And Raven, her entire life she has fought against her evil, struggled relentlessly against that which You hate. I know, I know what her destiny was written to be, I know that it was your plan, but please, please, use someone else! This is what I'm asking, my one selfish prayer, that you would save her from this fate. Take this cup from her, and if there is no one else that can receive it, then I will gladly do so!

Zacroma landed on the ground in front of the three, her back to the structure. Jinx was readying a blast of her power, Gizmo a powerful laser, and Mammoth another rock. She knew that this time, if the structure fell, she wouldn't survive. Eyes flowing with unsuppressed tears, she murmured the last of her prayer, "Not my own will, but Yours be done." She felt something wet hit her head, but when she looked up, all she saw was something white, but it was so swift, she wondered if she had seen it at all, and then…

Pain like she had never before felt in her entire life burst like fire on her back. Her eyes, her head, and her skin were on fire, there was no limit to how unbearable it was, no name, no possible way to explain it. And yet, she knew this pain, it was somehow familiar…

Screaming in agony, arms clutched tightly around her shoulders, hands pressed to her back, she fell to her knees. She gasped and cried, her screams coming in intervals as she bent over, her tears were flowing more freely now, but not only that, they had turned into blood. She gulped and gasped as the pain began to spread from her back, and up, up into areas above her that she shouldn't be able to feel. Her hair seemed to be dripping, dripping with the blue coloring she'd put in it, the color of her eyes were also pouring out in her tears onto the floor. And her skin, once nicely tanned, was melting into a snow white color, as the color of her clothes also melted off their original places, dripping onto the floor.

The H.I.V.E. members had stopped, even their controllers seemed to be stunned, not knowing what was happening, nor what to do about it. Then, Zacroma raised her head, and screamed. A blinding light burst from her eyes, forcing each of them back, and utterly destroying the serpents about their necks. Zacroma swiftly lowered her head and covered her eyes with her hands, still gasping and sobbing with pain as the light flooded from her.

She knew how she must look, her wings, which she had never quite forgotten, spread out from her back. Each individual feather made out of a crystal which caught the smallest light and sparkled, sending rainbows in all directions, and appearing to be slightly transparent. Her hair was the same, only it was less transparent than the wings, and looked like snow that had the tendancy to glitter with prismic colors. Her skin had become white as had her clothes and everything else that might have had color on her, and her eyes, if they could see them, her eyes would be as they use to before she was able to hide them with an illusion. Like slightly round disks of an iridescent silver and gold color, reflecting even the smallest bit of light. And then there was the light that was coming from her, causing them all to shield their eyes as they tried to look at her, as though they were looking at the sun.

"Z-Zee?" Breathed Gizmo's voice uncertainly.

"Zacroma…" Mammoth said. Zacroma could hear their footsteps nearing her.

"**_Don't come any closer!"_** Her voice echoed, sounding like a thousand voices at once, like rushing waters booming in their ears and their minds. She clutched herself, keeping her eyes closed as she continued to sniff and sob. The pain was still there, it wasn't as forceful, but it was still there, building up, demanding to be let out. But if she did, the H.I.V.E. members would die, and they didn't deserve that.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Asked Jinx, too shocked to feel any spite, her voice actually held a bit of concern.

"**_Please, if you can, leave! I don't know, how much longer, I can hold it back. GO!"_** She yelled, the force of her emotions bursting from her, causing them to be thrown back. But just as they had regained their footing and were moving to escape, Zacroma felt something cool and soothing on her back, a feeling which spread from that spot, throughout her entire body.

She opened her eyes, her power wasn't bursting from them anymore, and she looked down at her hands. They were returning to the tan color she once had, and her clothes as well. Her wings, she could feel them shrinking, pulling back into her skin, which was no longer afire, and disappearing.

It was far too late to see what had happened, but she still turned to try and see. Nothing. She rolled over and laid down on her back, her eyes closed as she began to regain her strength, heaving slightly with exertion.

"Zee?" Said a concerned voice above her. Zacroma opened her eyes, and her three ex-comrades jumped, but stayed where they were, still looking down at her. They were all supporting ugly marks on their necks, which looked as though they would infect pretty soon if nothing was done. But otherwise, they were okay.

Zacroma pulled herself up, and found Mammoth there, helping her onto her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She sighed, and nodded, "I think so. What about you?"

"As okay as we _can_ be after all _that_. What exactly is going on here?" Jinx demanded.

Zacroma shook her head, "There's no time to explain, do you three think you can get out of here okay?" She asked.

They looked at each other. "Um, I think so, I mean, yeah. We probably could." Gizmo answered.

"Alright, can you show me where to go in order to get to Judora?" She questioned.

They all stared at her, wide-eyed. "Say _what_! You can't!" Jinx exclaimed.

"She'll kill you for sure, or worse!" Mammoth answered.

"Better you get out of here with us, we can start over and—"

"_No_!" Zacroma snapped, so forcefully they jumped again. "Listen, that, all that, the whole thing with me joining you guys, it was a trick, a cover. I never really intended to stay on the team, I was using it as a leaver to get into the Church of Blood, and sabotage their plans from the inside. The entire thing was a big fraud! An act! I'm sorry, I really am, especially if any of you actually thought of me as a sort of friend, or even expected me to stick on for a while, but _this_, _this_ is what I am here for. This is the path that was chosen for me, _and_ that I chose to follow myself. To leave now, could mean more than just the loss of my friends. I don't expect you to understand, and I'm not bragging, trust me, but I'm important, I can not just leave. I have to see this through, no matter what might happen to me." She told them.

They were at a loss for words, they looked at each other for answers, but could find none. This was a side of Zacroma they had never seen before, and not only were they unsure of what to make of it, but they were also wondering about what she said as well. She was right, they _didn't_ understand, but they knew enough to guess that there was something going on that was much bigger than any of them.

"There, the path that leads to Judora is hidden in that wall over there." Mammoth said pointing. "We'll go this way, we should be able to get out on our own."

"Thank you." Zacroma said, nodding gratefully to them.

XD

Raven brought her elbow crashing into the stomach of the demon who'd dared to grab her, just as she realized that it had teleported her somewhere else entirely. She growled low in her throat, and rounded on him, four eyes blazing with furry. **"You'll pay for this!"** She hissed.

But he smiled and ran his fingers through his stringy black hair, "I don't doubt that, sister, I expected you to be displeased with me. But it's all for the greater good, you see." He said.

"**Don't talk to me as though we're the same. I may be a demon, but only by half my blood."** She hissed.

"Ah, but blood is everything, as you know back and forth. I know how little you think of the other side of your family, and for the life of me I can't understand why. I suppose those pesky humans on Azarath brainwashed you fairly thoroughly, ah well, that will all be rectified soon enough." He told her with a sigh. "But, where _are_ my manners, my name is Shijuko, your brother, well, half your brother anyway." He told her with a sweeping bow.

Raven's eyes narrowed on the one in front of him and she looked him up and down. Definitely a higher demon, he was humanoid, mostly, with a mop of layered black hair, the ends of which just laid over his shoulders, and had a rather unruly quality to it. He had red slits for eyes, and lengthened, pointy ears. His skin was pale white, but he had blood red markings all over his body, which she could see easily as the only clothing he had on was what looked like pants made from steel gray strips of cloth wrapped around his legs and his lower torso. His toes and fingers all ended with sharp claws, and he had an interesting nose-ring, which was connected to a chain that reached to the loop around his earlobe.

Raven huffed, **"You're all the same filthy vermin to me."** She informed.

"I'm sorry you think that way." He said shrugging, "Though I had hoped you'd be a little more open-minded about all of this." He mused with a bit of a pout.

"**And just what is _that_ suppose to mean? What is there to be 'open-minded' about? Demons are creatures of darkness, human pain and suffering are their treat, evil in its truest form."** She snarled.

"But what is 'evil', Raven? What is the true definition of evil? Is it something that is bad? Then explain to me what is bad? You see, you, corrupted with the human way of thinking, perceive us as creatures who deserve death, no matter what they've done or haven't done. Is that right?" He questioned.

"**Can you honestly say you've done nothing worth death?"**

"That depends. What is worth death? If it's killing a human, well, think of it from our perspective. We're just at a higher spot on the food chain than humans, it isn't evil, we merely do what we need to survive. Humans do the same, are they really any better?" He questioned. "Just because a human kills other creatures for their food, does that make them all evil beings that deserve death? Of course not, because humans make the rules, don't they? Killing innocent animals is okay, but not humans. Anyone or any_thing_ that sees otherwise, is automatically evil."

"**You don't kill just to survive, you enjoy watching the torment of humans, it's in your nature to feed upon their suffering and rise yourself above them. The cruelty you show can be described as nothing but evil. And it isn't just to them is it? Would family ties keep you from killing me if it meant you'd gain a lot of power?"**

"Food chain, the strongest survive. You can't get around by being nice."

"**That is exactly the kind of attitude that causes so much discord and chaos. But who cares so long as _you're_ on top of it all? Who cares as long as you have power and aren't effected? No sympathy for others, you feel their pain, and yet you don't care, in fact you relish in it. Never mind what it might be like to be in their shoes, never mind it's happening to _them_, you're alright, you're above it, it doesn't bother you. You sicken me, you think that's okay? To think only of yourself? If every human did that, demons would be out of a job in destroying them."** She retorted.

Shijuko blinked, but his expression didn't waver beyond that. "Humans are the same way, Raven, they can be—"

"**And yet they can change for the better. Can you?"** She asked.

She'd touched a nerve, the pleasantness in his expression faded and his face became downright terrifying with such a scowl her own composure almost faltered. "No," he said in a cool, dangerous voice, "No, I can't change, and you want to know why? Because you're _god_ made it that way. I don't have a choice, do I? I can't _chose_ to be good or evil, this is the way it is, and I've had to accept it. You should just do the same." He told her through clenched teeth.

"**Angels fall, Shijuko. If you wanted to change that badly, you could. But do you want to? If you could chose as easily as a human, would you choose good or evil? Just because it would require a lot more work to climb up than it does to fall down, if you wanted to badly enough, you could. But you know what? I don't think you _do_. You have _fun_."** She came back.

His scowl turned into a horrible grin, and then he began to chuckle unpleasantly. "No. No, no, no, no. That's not how it's done. You're system, of good and evil? What is it really? Evil was born into the world when a human made the wrong choice. They brought it on themselves, killing humans, it's not our fault we do it, it's theirs. They allow us to come, they call us to them, practically beg us to make them suffer. And we do what we can from the other side of the barrier, why? To serve these humans, to give them what they want. Humans have to suffer, they have to feel pain, they _want_ to feel this pain and discomfort. Why? I don't know, I don't understand, and I don't think I'll ever understand. But when a demon kills a human, it is the result of a human's wish. We are the other choice of mankind, we are the easiest way, we are needed. That is what I have assessed from human behavior.

"We don't want humans to die, necessarily. Their blood is just a sweet wine for us, we can live without it, even though it's quite addicting. You call us evil, well, if humans think we're so evil, if you're way of thinking, derived from human beliefs, says that we're creatures with no right to live, no real purpose but to devour, then why do humans continue to ask us to serve them? Why do they continue to use us?"

"**What…do you mean…?"**

"I'll repeat myself, I really don't understand. From what I have gathered, Father Lucifer planted the seed at the beginning of time, and it grew, yet humans never realized it was there. And those who did, were driven mad with the realization. Lucifer bore us dark beings, to serve this one wish of the humans. Because of the fact that this wish was never noticed, was never discovered as the reason, humans assume that we are malevolent beings who only want them harm. This is true, because they made us that way, your god decided it would be that way because He acknowledged this wish, though it cost Him a hefty price that He really didn't have to pay.

"So you see, Sister, you're fighting to save a race from what it _wants_. It is _their_ fault you have to endure these trials. Come, have you never once felt the urge to bite someone who's thoughts were rotating around dismal things? Have you never come across someone who wanted to die, and felt the urge to kill them? It may not be very strong within you, you're still half human, but that's what we feel. Negative thoughts and emotions give us power, power to do exactly what these negative things want us to. Just because we enjoy it, doesn't mean its our fault."

"**We never said humans knew what was good for them."** She told him softly, staring him squarely in the eye as his expression fell again. **"I think I understand now, better than, I'm sure, you believe I do. And I understand that I am not like you. Just because a human curses at their TV because it isn't working well does not mean they want it to blow up. Just because someone says they wish another would die, does not mean they actually want it to happen, deep down. You operate on the superficial things, don't you? You ignore the fact that they don't _really_ mean it, you ignore the fact that just because someone thinks bad things, it doesn't mean they _want_ or_ wish_ it to actually happen. The general population of humans are good people at heart who don't want to see bad things happening to others. Not everyone is self-centered, not everyone is shallow and empathetic, you only see that more because…"**

"Because humans can't live without pain and suffering." Shijuko finished.

"**So why must they have it? Usually you can't get everything you want, why this? Why must you comply with this _one wish_, the one that is the most dangerous to humans?"** She questioned.

"That's what we were made for. If you want the ones who are in charge of what human's _need_ and yet don't know they need, you can go to the angels. It's a system that was designed by both Jehovah and Lucifer, after it was apparent how the humans were going to operate once they ate the fruit." He said.

"**Yes, a system in which you and I are at opposite ends."** She told him.

Shijuko frowned once again, then he sighed and shook his head, "Sister, Sister, you really don't get it. You're half demon, you're one of us, you are our chance to gain the power we once had so long ago, and lost. You could be great, you could fulfill your roll and become ruler over the humans you unwittingly care for so dearly. Yet you continue to struggle against it, why? What's there for you? You think Jehovah is going to listen to your prayers? You think he's going to spare any love for a creature like you?" He asked, he was about to go on, but suddenly Raven's fist had connected with his jaw. Taking him by surprise so that he was tossed to the ground.

"**I'm still here, aren't I? If He hated me, really hated me, you think He would have let me live so long? You think he would have allowed there to be a chance that your prophecy would be fulfilled if He didn't love me as well? And even if He didn't, that would be your fault then, wouldn't it? All the more reason to despise you."** She said.

But he began to laugh, "You really have no idea, then, do you!" He cried.

"**_What_?"**

"Very well then, Sister. You may live in your delusions a bit longer, it makes no difference to me, personally. Soon you'll realize your true greatness, not even the great Azar's brainwashing will penetrate through what Judora will show you." He told her.

"**Enough talking, I am going to kill you, and then find my friends. You're Tainted has failed twice before, there's no guarantee this time will be any different."**

"Oh, but there is." He chuckled. "But, very well. _Vrenac Suna Hu Na_!" He chanted, summoning forth a ball of fire into his hands. Raven had just enough time to wonder at his words, before she began to summon her own power, and the battle began.

XP:

A/N: Okay I have little time to do this so I'm just gonna put up a few notes. I didn't put in a battle scene between Judora and our two dragons because all she did was put a powerful sleep spell in the mix with the teleportation circle so they couldn't fight it. This will be explained later, trust me.

Me: Oh yeah, darn, didn't catch that. I guess I was thinking that Judora would only be counting the 5 that she just wanted out of the way, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, Robin, and Zacroma. The other three get special treatment.

CARRIE: FOR THE LAST TIME, 'FOREVER YOURS' IS A ONE-SHOT, AS IN THERE'S ONLY ONE FRIGG'N CHAPTER TO IT, IT IS _NOT_ A CONTINUED STORY, ALRIGHT!

Crimsonsun-rk: Robin didn't exactly have time to be surprised because, though he didn't expect Slade to be there, it isn't surprising that he'd be all powered up or something. And, in this story, Birthright didn't actually happen because I started writing before the episode came out. So yeah. And Blackfire's appearance will be explained later.

Bb fan: Calm down! I agree with you, really! Terra was a total (beep) with all that. I mean, what excuse does she have for what she did! HUH! She really seemed to come off as pathetic to me, and Beast Boy _is_ going to go with Zacroma, don't worry, though not before we have a little drama after the battle is over, heheh.

Okay that's it, and now that I have my frigg'n internet back up, I can post this! Ja ne!


	27. The Death Wraith

A/N: ….okay nothing to say here. JUST READ!

XP

She dodged, she struck, dodged again, sent a blast of dark energy at her enemy, dodged his own dark blast, and struck. He tried to trick her with clever moves, tried to fake her out, move swiftly so that her eyes might not see what I was up to, he did many complicated and near impossible techniques that she doubted she might ever be able to learn, much less accomplish, but they were still on barely even ground, her being a bit higher. Frustration, perspiration, she could see through him easily. For all his knowledge of fighting styles and his speed, he was week. Stronger than the average human male, yes, but by the standards of his race he would be considered puny. Likely, he focused on speed and agility attacks to compensate, but Raven's forte was brute force, a complete turnaround from her human form, but currently she was not human. Currently she was powerful, much more powerful than he.

Her eyes were starting to be fooled less and less, she could sense him, hear his heartbeat, and the moment she was able to snag his skin with one of her claw-like nails, she had won. He knew this, which was why most of his attacks focused on the wolf's way of fighting, jump in, then jump out. He was avoiding anything that might pierce his skin as though he had a near die-hard phobia about it, and in spite of the fact that he was showing more skin than anything else, this wasn't hard as it was tough enough to withstand a slight graze of her nails and come out undamaged.

But she was winning, no matter how many times he harmed her body, it healed back up at an alarming rate. If he was to defeat her, he would have to hit and hit over and over again without stopping, and he couldn't do that, because that was not his strength. His method was slow and gradual, but all he was doing was giving Raven a good bit of exercise, and exhausting his own amount of physical energy as well. He could use dark energy, but not nearly enough to rival Raven's power, and though he could use powerful magic spells, not many of these were helping him in an actual fight.

Shijuko was losing, badly, and was being quite flustered by this. She could see him staring at her, panic behind his red slit eyes, she saw him wondering, apparently not everything was going as planned.

And then, she did it, catching him off guard by suddenly darting towards him during one of their little 'stare down' breaks, her nails cut four long gashes in his chest, his blood and flesh getting into them, and then the blood began to soak into her as she placed her other hand on the wound, and grabbed, so that she could keep a hold of him as her power shot throughout his entire system, branching through every vein from her hand.

He couldn't move, she had him from the inside, controlling his blood, and therefore controlling his body, she could do what she wanted, easily. **"Where are my friends?"** She asked him. **"Never mind, I'll find out myself."** She said, suddenly remembering she could. She used her free hand, mopped up a little blood, and licked it, allowing the memories to enter into her mind, what memories she wanted anyway. Her eyes widened when they hit her.

_They're in trouble._ She thought desperately. She glared at the demon menacingly, and he had enough time to give her a look of terror, before she plunged her teeth into his flesh and killed him so fast, he didn't have time to cry out in pain or surprise.

She took enough blood to replace the energy she lost, and then let his body drop like a sack of potatoes.

"Impressive, to tell you the truth I wasn't expecting you to do _quite_ as good against a full demon with your father's blood, but then, you are the Chosen. I'd expect nothing less, well done Lady Raven, but then, the worse has yet to come, hasn't it?" Judora's voice echoed throughout the empty room, causing every inch of Raven's being to prickle defensively.

"**You, I have a question for y—"** Raven began, but she stopped abruptly, as though her voice, her brain, her entire body had just stopped, frozen, rigid, every ounce screaming in warning. She was only vaguely aware of herself falling, for the sight before her caused her heart to thump in her ears, a wave of unwanted, uncalled for terror was filling her up, and only the remembrance of her rigid training kept her from losing it.

It had appeared from the shadows, and seemed to have draped itself in them as well. Gliding, barely recognizable silhouette of a hooded figure, its eyes, only seen by the waves of dark energy that crafted them, making them no more than voids of nothing, stared at her, taking her in. It barely seemed to move, the stillness of the air about it was stifling, and it took her a moment to realize that it was slowly making its way towards her. It's hands, blood-stained like they had been eroded unevenly with sandpaper, held a lantern, one that did not emit light, but sucked it in instead.

She couldn't hear it, in fact, it was like all sound had been taken, because the pain in her lungs, she just realized, was a result of screaming, screaming that she couldn't hear.

It was coming closer, and the closer it came, the farther she seemed to be falling, falling past the ground, falling past the very plains of reality. She could no longer see the Death Wraith, she could no longer see anything. She was cold, but couldn't feel it, and something, something that had been buried deep, so deep in her mind, so very deep it was almost like she completely forgot it, was coming to the surface. Breaking free of the many bonds, the many locks and seals she had put upon it as though they were nothing, it came, it rose, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

XD

Little Raven has a secret, doesn't she? Doesn't want anyone to know, doesn't even want to remember it. She's kept it locked away all these years, kept it inside, deluded herself into thinking she'd forgot, told herself it didn't happen, got rid of it. But really, memories can never be truly forgotten, even in rebirth. Blood is not the only thing that records memories and thoughts, no, no. You've known, all along you've known, and tried to tell yourself you forgot, that it wasn't true, that it didn't happen, won't happen. It was all something you dreamed, yes, a dream, a nightmare, placed there by your own creative fears as a child.

_Blood, isn't everything, blood cannot _do_ everything. Blood, cannot be passed through soul reincarnation unless a part of the actual body is used. Isn't that lucky, though? Considering, what you were as Avelona._

_Still trying to hold on to the delusion that you don't know? Even in the past, you avoided that truth, you dodged and skirted around it, refusing to let your mind even take a step in that direction, when all the while you knew, and you know now, don't you? Come on, that's it, let that memory surface, let it writhe and torment you, let the realization hit you, remember who you are, remember **what** you are, and remember what purpose you were to fulfill._

If she was screaming, she couldn't hear it, if she was clutching her head, writhing on the floor to get the voice out of her head, she couldn't feel it. She was numb to anything involving physical actions, deft to any sounds. She couldn't smell, couldn't taste, couldn't see. Nothing was working, it was a dead silence, and yet it wasn't. She was screaming in her mind, wishing it to stop, wanting more than anything to break her skull open and take out the words, the images, the voices…

"**You never told us, you tried to keep it hidden, and we know why now."**

"You're not a demon, you're worse, a monstrosity, a creature that should have never been allowed to walk the earth alive."

"**It's no wonder, really, we should have suspected something like this, but I don't think _anything_ we might have thought would amount to such…insanity."**

"We'll admit to being…unfavorable, sinful even, in the past. We don't have a clean slate, and we're monsters to the rest of the world, but you…"

"**I don't think we can love you, especially since you kept something like this a secret."**

"…**I didn't, I don't, I didn't even know myself I…I…how, how did you find out it…I haven't told anyone, not even my own mother…"**

"It was Judora who told us, Judora."

"**The woman we _really_ loved."**

"**But you, you said…you told me that you'd…I thought, I was going to tell you I just…but I thought you'd….understand…you said you'd never leave me, you said…"**

"That was before we knew."

"**Before we realized. But then, we thought that, in time, you might actually warm up. Might even _smile_, but you never did. You never really loved us did you?"**

"_We were just a toy for you, something to amuse you, weren't we?"_

"No! That's not true! I, I…" 

"**You can't even say it, can you? What are we to you? You unfeeling, self-rightious, arrogant little brat!"**

"_You strut around as if you're above everything, you're above petty humans, above a simple _dragon_, even though you make him believe you actually loved him, when all this time, you were just—"_

"IT'S NOT TRUE!" 

"**LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _**"LIAR!" **_"LIARE!"_ **"LIAR!" **_"LIAR!" _

"FIGHT IT!" A sudden voice yelled in her mind, "FIGHT IT, YOU CAN, YOU ARE STRONG!" It said. It was…familiar, almost…

"It was Judora who told us, Judora."

"**The woman we _really_ loved."**

"Don't go that way! Turn around, put your back to it!" The voice yelled

"**You can't even say it, can you? What are we to you? You unfeeling, self-rightious, arrogant little brat!"**

"_You strut around as if you're above everything, you're above petty humans, above a simple _dragon_, even though you make him believe you actually loved him, when all this time, you were just—"_

"Velduil, I swear that if you do not defeat it this instant, I will take back everything I thought about you being a strong woman!"

There was another set of voices, but it was leaving, fading, she couldn't really make out what it was. The pain, the emotions, the agony, it was all leaving, fading away, and she was regaining sensation in her limbs, she was remembering what it was like to hear properly, smell properly, to _feel_ properly.

It was as if she were waking up from the worst nightmare she had ever had, a nightmare whose effects were fading, becoming distant as the memory of it fogged up, and left. She opened her eyes, and then saw the very last person she had expected to save her, aside from Judora herself.

"Ch-Chire'ni!" Raven gasped, staring up at the coal black face, the blue, green-rimmed eyes she knew so well, which had broke into a grin that, somehow, didn't seem to belong there.

"Surprised? So am I. I would lament about this entire thing, but we still have a bit of a problem." She said, pointing.

Raven pulled herself up enough so she could look, and she saw the Death Wraith standing there, a good ways away from them, and looking as though there was something blocking it from coming any closer. Oddly enough, Raven was feeling it's presence less and less every passing moment, as if it had left and she were merely recovering from the after-effects. "How…?"

Chire'ni showed Raven her dagger, "It's creating a barrier, I think. It _is_ one of the types of blades that killed or banished those things in the first place. It won't get near." She said. "I'd have killed it, but, well, only humans can kill those things. I'm immune because they're not exactly real to me, only to humans." She said.

"So because I'm part human…"

"Exactly." The drow answered, pushing the dagger into her hand, then helping her up.

The next moment, Raven flew at the creature, and plunged the dagger into the lantern it held so protectively. It didn't have time to react, it just simply melted, drawn into the lantern, and then dropping, the item broken in half, now appearing like nothing more than a bunch of glass and metal bits.

"Come, this way. There may still be time to help your friends." Chire'ni said, gesturing towards a wall, which opened to reveal a passageway that had previously been hidden.

Raven nodded, and followed Chire'ni into the hall, but began to question her as they walked down it swiftly. "Why did you save me?" She asked.

"Guilt, maybe? A mature decision to leave the past as the past and realize my mistakes, perhaps. After having more information about myself than even _I_ was aware of being thrown, ever so gracefully, in my face, I did some self-assessment, and realized that you were completely and painfully right. I had to swallow enough pride to make me sick, but I know that it would have been worse to go through the remainder of my years with all of that hanging over me in the back of my mind. I was wrong, all these years, I was wrong, and I guess I'm here to try and make up for that. I don't expect you to forgive me, I just hope you realize how much it cost me, and how hard it was to completely change my views after centuries of believing otherwise." The drow answered.

Raven stared at her, it was hard not to. This was the girl, the woman, who had been plaguing many of her dreams, raising emotions she preferred not to have, and who she thought, not too happily, she'd never see again. A strange, new emotion suddenly came over her and she stopped dead, Chire'ni skidding to a halt and looking at her questioningly. Raven wasn't sure how to respond to this emotion, it felt like it wasn't hers, exactly, but at the same time it was, she was feeling it inside of her, even though her mind was questioning it considerably. But it wasn't bad, no, it was…as though something she had waited for, had worked for, had wanted for so long with such a passion, had finally come to her, she finally had it.

"Chire'ni…what, did you call me, when you were telling me to wake up?" She asked, unable to really _say_ anything else.

"I called you, Velduil." She answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It's drow, it means 'sister'." Chire'ni answered, without a trace of shame or regret.

XD

"It's a little further." Terra called over the tapping of their own footsteps on the stone ground. She was right, a light at the end of the tunnel seemed to appear, slowly coming closer to them, until the pair of them skidded to a halt inside a large, circular room with many passageways. They hadn't been there for a moment, before Robin arrived, breathless and panting hard.

"Robin!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as he and Terra ran over to him.

"Beast Boy!" Robin gasped, a look of utter relief swept over his face, "And…Terra? But you're, wait, how'd you break free of control?" He asked.

"I don't know, it just _happened_." Terra answered, shrugging.

"She said she saw something white." Beast Boy said, giving Robin a meaningful look.

Robin's eyes widened, "So did I, when Slade was about to kill me, he suddenly died and all I saw was something white." He said. "You think someone's helping us?"

"Who? And why haven't they shown themselves?" Asked Terra.

"Well, we don't know." Answered Beast Boy.

"HEY!" Exclaimed a familiar voice.

"Cyborg!" Robin and Beast Boy exclaimed. Cyborg took one look at them, and Terra, then shook his head.

"Never mind, I'm not gonna ask right now. Where are the others?"

"We don't kn—" Beast Boy began.

"I am here!" Called Starfire, flying into the room, with Blackfire in tow.

"YOU!" Exclaimed all but Terra.

"Chill out, for now, I'm on your side. But just until we kill Snake Woman." Blackfire told them airily as they landed. Starfire nodded encouragingly.

"But, four of us are still missing!" The red headed girl exclaimed, looking around worriedly.

"Four? Isn't that dark girl the only one left?" Asked Blackfire, confused.

"Three, all of whom happen to be the last people we want out of our sights." Zacroma stumbled in, panting and clutching her heart. At least they _thought_ it was Zacroma. For one, her hair, not only had grown a little longer, just enough to be noticed, but it had also become a soft, prismic white, definitely not a human hair color. And her eyes, when she raised them, were reflective disks of an iridescent gold and silver, like platinum.

"Who and _what_ the heck are you!" Exclaimed Blackfire.

"Where'd _you_ come from?" Asked Terra at the same time.

"Zacroma! Are you hurt, what happened to you!" Beast Boy exclaimed, running over to her as she fell to the ground, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire followed suite.

But she shook her head, "It would take too long to explain, but I'm fine, at least I will be in a minute. I think Raven's alright, that higher demon she was grabbed by is no match for her, but…Malchior and Rorek." She gave them a pained expression. "We have to get going, there's no telling how much time we've wasted. Raven has probably even gone on, not sure if we would come or not." She said, letting Beast Boy help her up.

"Actually, I'm right here." Said a voice that caused every head to turn.

"RAVEN!" They all cried, but then Zacroma let out a scream, and it was apparent to everyone why.

Coal black skin, long, flowing, and shockingly white hair with elongated and pointed ears, it was plain to everyone that _this_ was Chire'ni. She stood there with an unreadable expression on her face, servaying them all with her arms crossed in front of her. Her outfit consisted of a hip-hugger pant-set with boots at the bottom, a shoulder-less top which started at her bust-line and curved amply to both cover her breasts, and show them off. She had long arm guards which started at her wrists in a jewel, and then came up a few inches below her shoulder. Then there was a band about her neck which completely hid it from view. The entire outfit was black, not as black as her skin, but it seemed to match well enough, and not only that, it had white strings all over it, like webs, and seemed to retain an armor-like quality. The final touch was the large tarantula that was perched on her shoulder.

"Squeamish, aren't you?" Chire'ni said, unable to keep herself from smirking at all the faces turned to her. "Don't worry, I've 'seen the error of my ways' and all of that, you can think of me as an ally for now. Afterwards you can go on with your allusions, delusions, and what-not, it's all fine by me. But currently there's a tainted woman who needs to be dealt with, and you can ask questions later." She told them.

"S-spider lady?" Beast Boy asked.

"Chire'ni, or, if that's to hard to pronounce for you, Arachnia." She answered not even blinking at the name.

"What the heck _are_ you! What the heck are _both_ of you! And what the heck happened to miss dark and dismal!" Demanded Blackfire, pulling on her hair in frustration. Terra obviously agreed, but she was too stunned to say as much.

"I tire of this, shouldn't we find your two males?" Chire'ni asked Raven, who suddenly paled in realization.

"Yes, we should. We can all ask questions later, right now our goal is roughly the same and we have no time to dwell on all of this. Might want to put an illusion back over your eyes, Zacroma, they'll be very obvious in combination with your hair." She said.

"Oh! Right." She said, putting her hands over her eyes. The next moment they were a very natural shade of blue. She then started running her fingers through her hair, and was able to get out the prismic look it had so that it was now merely white.

"Wait, wait, wait, since when were _you_ the leader? I thought that was Robin's job." Blackfire questioned.

"Since this is, essentially, _my_ battle, Judora's after _me_, and _I_ know a lot more about what is going on than you do." Raven snapped, glaring so that even Blackfire shut up. "Now, if there are no more _objections_." She said, starting to feel agitated at all the time they were taking up.

"Wait, Raven, there's something we have to mention. Both Terra and I saw something white, and then suddenly Terra regained control of herself, and Slade was killed before he could kill me for no apparent reason. We think it has something to do with your dream." Robin said.

"I also saw something white!" Zacroma interjected. "Raven, listen, I was about to die, but then I felt something fall onto my head, and I…I _changed_, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo's controllers were destroyed, but just before I was about to destroy _them_ as well…I think this friend, whoever they are, might be a…they might be a messenger of God, the First God." She said.

Raven stared at her, her heart began to hammer against her chest as an emotion not unlike fear crept up inside of her, but she fought it back, and nodded, "M-maybe…but you changed to…?" Zacroma nodded.

"To what? What did she change to?" Asked Blackfire.

"Well that's none of your concern or they would come out and tell you, wouldn't they?" Chire'ni answered coolly. "Velduil, we must hurry. Questions can come later." She said, putting her hand on Raven's shoulder.

Raven nodded, "Alright, let's go." She told them. And without another word, she turned and began to run down the correct hall, which she knew from Shijuko's memories. Chire'ni and Zacroma were the first to follow after her, and the rest came without any more protest.

XP

A/N: ARG! Sorry guys, this chapter was kinda rushed as well! I tried to edit a bit of it, but it probably still sucks a little. Oh well, maybe later I can go back and word it better.

Storm Front: Um, R&R on a normal basis means Read and Review, that's what I meant by the last chapter.

Okay that's my only comment, I'll probably have time for more next time, for now, ja ne!


	28. The Serpent\'s Trap

A/N: (re-poast!) I'M ALIVE! Sorta, yeah, um, apology will be at the bottom of the chapter...

XP

"_Azerath, Metriom, Zynthos_!" Raven yelled, the instant she saw the velvet green and blood red colors together in one spot. But Judora's snake had seen her, and it had raised up a barrier around the woman, who merely swept around, a smile on her face which made Raven burn with the longing to kill her.

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd get here in time." She said smoothly, but suddenly, her expression faltered as her eyes flicked over the rest of the Titans, pilling in from the hall into the large room, each in their battle positions, ready for Raven's word or plan. "It _can't_ be." She whispered, loosing her composure for a moment, before gathering it back up and glaring. "So you were able to help out your little friends, were you?" She hissed menacingly.

"Let them go, Judora. You know you're no match for me." Raven hissed.

However, Judora's smile returned, and she stepped away to make sure Raven saw the alter behind her, completely devoid of either Malchior or Rorek. "Surrounded by your friends and allies, I know that any spell I might perform swiftly, even with Shinigami at my side," She patted her snake lovingly, "Wouldn't be able to kill you. I also know you've taken precautions so your friends will be able to resist my string technique. I know they are more powerful now, I know that you have gained new allies, and I know that if I tried to fight you, I would most certainly loose because I am not as skilled at bruit force and raw force as you are, _on my own_. Knowledge is power, my dear, a power that I possess in great abundance." She then raised a hand into the air, and waves of black and green began to surround her being, the force coming at them in the form of an impossible wind. "_Taeb Na Muz Coklana Rulb Trigon_." She chanted, and a huge blast of her power shot at them. But not before both Raven and Chire'ni pulled up barriers to block it.

"What's she playing at!" Demanded Blackfire scathingly. But Raven realized the answer to that all too late.

She let Chire'ni handle the blast and used her own magic to protect herself as she flew foreword, but Judora's snake had been performing the teleportation spell just as Judora was blasting them, and the only thing Raven saw was her smirking face before she flew through thin air in an attempt to tackle Judora down.

The wind stopped as abruptly as it had come, leaving everyone a bit surprised.

"You sure do like to talk a lot, we should have attacked the moment we got in!" Blackfire shouted.

"On a normal basis, I would agree. But attaching a woman like that dead on is a foolish mistake. She had a barrier around her the entire time, a powerful one, and if anyone save Raven tried getting too close her snake would have you the moment you were near enough." Chire'ni responded.

"Oh…" Blackfire shut her mouth.

"If you want to see your pets before they die, I'd suggest taking the door to your left. Might want to try and hurry it up too, it's almost nightfall." Judora's voice echoed, and then faded with a cruel, cold laugh.

"Come on! We've got to get her!" Terra cried out, running to the door.

"NO!" Raven exclaimed, grabbing her before she touched it.

"That could be a trap!" Zacroma exclaimed, running forward. She pulled a veil from thin air and then splashed the water that was in it onto the door. Suddenly a very basic, but nonetheless dangerous circle glowed in bright blue, and seemed to shatter away. Terra gulped.

"Thanks, sorry." She said.

"We know it is a trap, no matter what we do, so what _do_ we do?" Asked Chire'ni.

"Uuuuuh, no clue." Beast Boy and Cyborg said.

"But we can not merely leave! Nor do nothing! Rorek and Malchior are in trouble, we must think of something fast!" Starfire exclaimed.

"And splitting up would be a bad idea as well." Chire'ni put in.

Raven's mind was reeling, the longer they stayed put, the more time Judora had to merge, and kill, Malchior and Rorek, which would then ultimately result in the resurrection of Trigon, more powerful than ever before. And this time, she didn't have the souls of her siblings to help her. They wouldn't survive, and _she_…

"_There's no time_." She hissed, blasting down the door. "I'm going." She said simply. And without another word, nor backwards glance, she barreled through the door, and woe be to any creature who planned to stop her.

Chire'ni and Zacroma were the first to run after her, and she imagined the rest would be coming as well. She knew she was playing into whatever trap Judora had set out for her, she had a good idea that there was a very slim chance she'd reach the end before Judora completed the ritual, and she knew that once she did get there, whatever was waiting would probably both kill her friends, and force her to revert. But…

She couldn't help it. All she could think about was Malchior and Rorek, the thought of them in such danger, the knowledge that they might be killed any moment, taking away the ones she loved and giving her the one she hated more than anything else, she had to try, she _had_ to. She couldn't just stand around and discuss a plan of action, she couldn't wait for something to happen. She loved them, she loved them more than anything else, and she couldn't stand the thought of loosing them…again.

Raven stopped abruptly, so suddenly that Chire'ni nearly knocked her over, swearing in drow no doubt. But then she saw what Raven saw, and stopped abruptly mid-swear. Zacroma gasped, and slowly the rest of the titans also stopped, gawking at the scene before them.

"What the heck!"

Blackfire's pronouncement was adequet, as that's all anyone could really think at the moment. The first thing one noticed when stepping onto this scene, was the bright light, originating from the center of the room somewhere on the ground, but then you saw what the light was showing, and the strangeness of the light gave way to the strangeness of what it illuminated. Demons, hundreds of demons, lesser demons, normal demons, and even one or two higher demons littered the floor before them, and the trail seemed to continue on down the large hall, farther than the light reached, which was far indeed as this light seemed to have a radius of about 100 feet.

This was what Judora had in store for them, this was what was suppose to slow them down, no doubt. And it very well would have, it might have killed off some of the Titans, if there were any still alive.

For a few moments, all they could do was stare in wonder, but then Raven blinked, focused on the light source, and gasped. She ran over to it, and picked it up. "I don't believe it." She breathed, as Chire'ni (shielding her eyes with magic no doubt) and Zacroma ran over, followed by the rest. "It's the bottle, the one in my dreams!" She exclaimed.

Blue crystal with alabaster stone carved in the form of a woman for the set and handle, the bottle had very little water in it, but that water was what was shining so brightly most couldn't look directly at it. But there, beside the bottle, was something that Zacroma picked up. A piece of white cloth.

"You're going to need that, I think." Zacroma said.

"Okay, _what_ is going on?" Blackfire burst.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do. But I think our white clothed friend is the one who killed off all the demons." Answered Robin.

"Alright." Raven said, putting both cloth and bottle into her belt. "Let's go." They ran.

Their footsteps echoed from the marble floor, to the walls and ceiling, making it sound as though there was a thousand of them, running through the trail of carnage as fast as any of them could, some of them took to the air rather than stay on foot, able to move much faster that way, Raven being one of them.

She considered transforming, but thought better of it. That was probably what Judora was hoping for. Had their friend not cleared the way, Raven would have to just to stay alive herself, she didn't even want to _think_ about what might have happened to the others. Likely, Judora was counting on the gauntlet to leave her exhausted,

And friendless.

But without it, surely, _surely_ they would get there in time. They had to, Judora wouldn't have, _couldn't_ have planned on this.

_Please, please let us not be too late._ Raven begged.

They came to a set of doors engraved with snakes, and Raven blasted them open, not caring what might be on the other side.

Judora's hands were raised in the air, power in the form of green and red was emitting from her body, twisting into the dome-shaped force of the spell she was casting. Raven didn't need to be able to see through it to know that Malchior and Rorek were there. She shouted her power chant the next moment and threw it at Judora, just as her snake's head turned around and let out an unfathomably loud hissing sound.

The spell was deflected with a barrier, and the next moment it seemed as though Judora just slipped out of the spell she was casting, and her snake took her place, coiling and uncoiling, as waves from it's own body replaced the one's Judora had been using. The woman herself whirled around, a look of shock on her face as she surveyed them all standing there, readying themselves to go after her. "How—" She began, but Raven wasn't going to give her the chance to distract them again. She charged, and the rest followed suite.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, suddenly a group of demons rose, on Judora's command most likely, but Raven all but ignored them, she flew over the one trying to stop her, and came after Judora, power flowing through her body, anger, rage, building up inside. "_Necronam, Hesbureck, Mortix!_" She shouted, not really knowing what she was doing. The force of her blast hit Judora's shield like a hammer, and smashed it, sending the woman a few feet back and to the ground.

"How, this can't be possible, how did you get here so fast! Why is everyone still alive! This isn't suppose to happen!" Judora shrieked, but Raven ignored her.

Right now, it was the snake that was important, it was the snake which had Malchior and Rorek trapped, it was the snake she had to focus on. Raven gathered the power she still had from the chant, and released it on the serpent.

Not expecting it, the snake let out a shriek and was knocked back, breaking it's concentration, and then the spell. Raven moved in swiftly, and began to unwind the powerful waves of magic, lacking direction in mid-spell, and probably more dangerous left to itself than the actual spell would be. It was complicated, a much higher brand of magic than she could ever really hope to reach, but she refused to give up, she refused to…

And then, it clicked, she broke it apart, the dome shattered, the spell was vanquished, and she…was in trouble.

"Here! Over here! Keep them down, kill them all! What's the matter, they're just humans!" Judora was shrieking as Raven slumped to the floor, heart beating and her brow beading with sweat. Something from behind grabbed her, and at first she thought it might be Malchior or Rorek, but they were in front, and this was definitely not their pair of arms. She struggled, but too late, the demon had flung her somewhere, and she had just enough time to realize that she was on top of a circle, a very complex circle, and radiating with power she'd never felt or known of before, but then Judora was there, standing over here with an hourglass in her hand, looking livid.

"I cannot hope to defeat you as you are, surrounded by friends, and we cannot hope to kill your friends as they are now, with you close by." She said, opening the lid of the glass. Raven tried to stand up, but something grabbed her, and held her down. She looked, and found that the very blood used in the markings was keeping her in place. "But separate you from them, and I win." She said, smirking as she poured sand into her hand.

"No!" Raven choked out. Was this some sort of teleportation spell? If she was going to be teleported, probably to another world, then…

"_Amhluki uv hyna, damb hu ni zarr. Vulzelb hu baeht!_" She chanted, spreading the sand over Raven.

"_Necronom, Hesbereck—_" She tried, but the words became stuck in her throat when she looked down, and saw the circle was becoming a vortex, a vortex that she was falling through. "HELP!" She cried out.

"RAVEN!" A familiar voice shouted. Raven saw Judora's face turn around as she prepared a spell, she was getting farther away.

"Oh no you—_what_!" Raven was falling, she could hardly see what was happening above her. Something falling towards her, a shock of something silver and…a white cloak, getting farther and farther away.

The world became black.

XD

Raven's face tensed, she tightened her eyes, relaxed them, and tightened them again. She could feel herself breathing, that was a good sign, and she could also hear someone else breathing. Also a good sign as she recognized the hard cool, not terribly comfortable surface she was currently using as a pillow. She took a deep breath, and her eyes fluttered open.

The strong arms already wrapped around her form gave her a squeeze, and she pulled herself up, and found her royal blue eyes staring into a set of piercing violet ones, framed with cream-colored skin, and shocking silver hair, which looked as though someone had found out how to make a wig out of mercury, and keep it from falling off or getting onto anything. Almost cautiously, she took some of it in her hands and felt it. It felt like hair, yes, but perfect hair, soft and smooth. And she could part it and find the individual strands. It acted like hair, but it didn't look like hair.

"Malorek?" She whispered, not daring to believe it.

"Yes." He answered. His voice, the same tone, and pitch of both Malchior and Rorek's voice, but with something else, something a little…more. He brought his hand up and caressed her head, running his fingers through her hair as well. He bent his head down more and kissed the red jewel on her forehead. "Though, this isn't exactly the situation I had imagined." He said, frowning up at the ceiling.

Raven sat up and looked around at their surroundings, the memory of what had happened coming back to her like a wave. It looked like they were in some sort of building, a building where the room they were in was probably the only room that could fit anyone in it. Meaning that it seemed the entire building had collapsed, there was even a chunk missing out of several parts of it, but the only place where you could see the outside was in a corner of the ceiling, and all she could see through that was darkness.

She tried to listen, but all she could hear was wind, the place was still and silent, and that unnerved her.

"Where are we?" She asked.

Malorek shook his head, "No idea. A ghost town is my best guess. You passed out before we passed through the clouds, we fell from the sky, and I was barely able to grab you and pull up into the air in time to keep us from crashing into this pile of rubbish. So I only had a glimpse of the rest before I decided taking cover would be a good idea until we know more about what happened. But if we're somewhere on earth, all we need to know is where and—"

"No, that spell was too powerful, and Judora's, unfortunately, too wise to have sent me anywhere short of another planet entirely." Her hands shook and she buried her face in them, "We can only pray that the others will be able to fight off Judora, at least make her teleport and give us time to get back while she formulates a new plan." She said.

"They _will_." He assured her firmly, taking her hands and making her look at him. "Listen, Judora doesn't know about Zacroma being half-angel, so she probably thinks the Titan's protection comes from you, but that's not _entirely_ true. So long as _Zacroma_ stays alive, that protection won't waver in the slightest. At least not enough to allow demons an upper hand. And you know, it's possible that Zacroma only has to touch a demon for it to disintegrate, I don't know. All I know that, whatever happened, Judora was _not_ expecting it. Something in her plans went wrong, so it's likely we'll have time to get back before anything serious happens." He told her.

Raven sighed, and nodded. Yes, there was hope. There was that white cloak, their friend. Surely he or she _must_ have the power to stave off Judora's attack, at least for a while, _please_.

Malorek pulled her into his arms and held her there, caressing her back and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Listen, it's going to be alright, I promise. Whatever happens, we'll go through it together. I lost you once, I'm not going to let that happen again. Wherever you go, I will follow, I will be there for you no matter what." He whispered.

"I love you." She whispered, clinging to him tightly. Something surfaced in the back of her mind, something she'd put off thinking about. "I love you, I love you, I love you." She repeated, tears falling down her face.

"I know, and I love you. My sweet Raven." He said, petting her hair tenderly. He brought her face up to his and pressed his lips to hers.

A shock of electricity seemed to run from her lips all over her body, causing her eyes to open wide in shock for a moment. It felt as though the earth were moving beneath her, it was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. But at the same time it was…familiar. The hallow feeling, the one where it seemed something was missing when she had kissed either Malchior or Rorek, it was gone. The feeling of his soft lips working her own lovingly, it felt whole and complete.

She was so surprised, that for a moment she forgot to kiss him back, but she shook herself of that, and pressed in. A whole new shock seemed to run through her, but one she was causing herself. She felt his hands travel up and down her back and sides, so she slipped her hands beneath the bunched cloth of his scarf and began to massage the back base of his neck.

Neither of them were very willing to cease, but mutually, they agreed it couldn't go on any longer. They had a responsibility to take care of. This could wait until later.

They parted, a little grudgingly, but stood up as a whole. "What now?" Asked Raven.

"Find some intelligent life, and figure out where we are, and how to get back as soon as possible." Malorek answered.

"Good id—"

BAM!

"Um, I know the initial reaction to hearing a loud booming noise would be to investigate and see what Beast Boy or Cyborg has done_ this_ time, but as we are not on our own world anymore…" Malorek trailed.

"I know but what if—"

"MIGHT WANT TO RUN!" Exclaimed a man, suddenly falling into their room through the crack in the roof. "She's pissed now! Oh f333, no exit!" He exclaimed, just as three of his buddies came in.

"We can't go back! She'll see us!" a burnet exclaimed, just as an inhuman shriek pierced the air, causing both Raven and Malorek to clutch their ears and screw their faces up in pain.

"Who's 'she', and what exactly is going on!" Malorek yelled.

"You been hiding under a rock man! Sh, sh," He suddenly said, pressing his finger to his lips. They were all silent, watching the hole of the ceiling intently. Something seemed to pass over it, but it was so swift and the whole so small, it was hard to make out exactly what it was. There was silence for a long time, and then they heard 'her' shriek again, but it was at such a distance they were most likely safe.

"Good, she didn't see us." Said another, this one a girl by the looks of it.

"What's going on?" Raven asked again.

"It's been 7 months since the last time, The Demon's come back of course." The girl elaborated.

"You'll excuse us for being slow, but we're not exactly from around here, you see." Malorek said.

"Ah, let me guess, you're from one of the few lucky colonies that's so well hidden it has yet to see The Demon, eh? Alright, we'll fill you in. This is Cross Hope, and here is the one place The Demon tries to avoid at all costs. But every seven months she's summoned back here to do battle with the sorceress who rules over this city. I'm sure you know the rest of it." She said.

"Actually, no, on both accounts. We're from another world entirely, so we have no idea what's going on. We got dropped here by our own villain back home, hope we aren't a bother." Malorek answered calmly.

The two were then gawked at for a moment, but that soon passed. "Alright, I guess we get to act as tour-guides! But best you don't get _us _into trouble with your ignorance. Goody. Okay, here's the deal. The Demon and The Sorceress do battle every seven months, that's the only time The Demon comes to Cross Hope, all other times she's out rampaging the rest of the world, and has been for the last few decades. The Demon, however, usually looses and high tails it out of here." One of the other guys stated.

"So is The Sorceress the reason The Demon avoids this place?" Raven asked.

"Oh heck no, The Sorceress only wins her battles because the demon is weakened by The Cross. Everywhere she hits is usually turned to ashes, but here, we usually only get spots of damage, such as this area, until The Sorceress comes out to do battle. However," Raven could make out a frowning expression in the darkness, "It's been getting worse, she's been here two whole days, and the battle hasn't even begun yet. The Sorceress repairs some of the damage, just to keep the city up, but that's only so she has something to rule over I'll bet." He told them.

"The Demon, The Sorceress, and The Cross, wonderful." Malorek said sarcastically, "Unfortunately, we have to get back to our own world as quick as we can, or we'll have a snake taking it over and killing all out friends to resurrect a demon lord."

"Malchi-Malorek!" Raven exclaimed, exasperated.

"_Whatever_, just don't expect any help from us. The Sorceress usually finds and destroys any attempts to build space shuttles, especially after Gethsemane 01 got away. And she's been keeping tabs on the Moon Colonies as well. She doesn't make it obvious, but everyone _knows_ she's got agents there, sabotaging things and keeping the place in disarray so they can't focus too much on getting more people up there and out of The Demon's reach. It's a mess, good luck getting anywhere. It's only a matter of time before The Sorceress finds you too, she'll have you for lunch."

"She can try." Malorek muttered. "Raven, how week do you think this Sorceress might be after she and The Demon battle it out?"

"Depends on a few things. For one, the power of this Sorceress _and_ the power of this Demon when she's around The Cross. It also depends on if The Demon is a full demon, or even our definition of one for that matter. But it sounds like she is if this cross is a point of powerful rosary. And, if The Demon's a High Demon or a Lesser one, though I don't like the odds that's giving me, if she's been able to throw an entire planet into turmoil and fear by herself, she's probably very powerful. My own chances against her would, most likely, be slim. That is, unless this planet knows nothing of rosary." She said, directing the question to the others.

"What? Think we're stupid? We've got beads, silver crosses, and holy water out the kazoo, it doesn't effect her at all! A priest could be laden with thousands of beads, silver, and having been doused in Holy Water, and she would still go after him and rip him to shreds like any other human." The girl snapped.

"Then are you sure it's a real demon?" Asked Raven, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Well, if she isn't she's doing a really good impression of it." Said a guy over on Raven's left. "Big bat-like wings, ram horns, and a tail with an arrowhead on the tip. Lots of long black hair, and fangs too, with paper white skin and claws on both hands and feet." He told them, shuddering at the memory. "That's what they say anyway, you don't get close enough to see them without them ripping you apart, really. But some bodies have been found drained of blood, so we know she's got a vampire nature, though I don't know if that's demonic or not. Think she could be a cross?"

"No, demons were the original blood-suckers way back when. Half-demons and forth-demons evolved into vampires, that's why they're called Dark Angels sometimes. It sounds like a real demon, a high class one too." Raven considered, running fingers through her hair. (A/N: Just so you know, all that isn't fact I picked up from somewhere, it's my own version and explanation, SO BACK OFF!) "Ever tried trying to figure out why The Cross effects her?" She asked.

There was a hallow sort of laugh. "Can't go near it! The Sorceress has guards all over the lake, it's on a small island by the way out in the middle, so you can neither fly to it, boat to it, or swim to it under water. They say The Sorceress herself is around that area, but no one knows, it's just roomers." A male voice said, and he brushed his hair back, looked up at the ceiling hole for a moment, and then back at Raven, "Say, you sure know a lot about demons…"

"Priests and priestesses know a lot about demons, as do most mystics, if you want to get far." She answered airily. She wasn't _about_ to tell them she was half demon.

"You magic users? Splendid! Why didn't you tell us!" Exclaimed the girl, her voice pitch suddenly high, yet still dripping with a bit of sarcasm.

"Calm down, Shila, they don't know, alright!" Hushed the man next to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"What, what's wrong with that?" Asked Malorek.

"Magic is forbidden to anyone who aren't direct agents of The Sorceress. She'll be after you. Sorry, mates, but this is where we say goodbye." He said, and the entire group began to move away from them.

"What?" Raven questioned.

"If we get caught with you, we'll be in trouble as well." Answered the girl, and they all jumped out the whole, leaving Raven and Malorek without another word.

They looked at each other, "That was, abrupt. At least we know what's going on." Malorek said.

Raven frowned, "I don't like the feel of this." She muttered. "Let's see about finding The Cross, if we can get past The Sorceress's guards,"

"Which we will." Malorek said with a rather indignant sniff.

"Then maybe we can help these people." Raven continued.

"Right, hero work again, Raven we have to work on saving our own world first before we—"

"And just how are we going to do that without a bit of help?" Raven snapped, starting to feel irritated. It was bad enough she was suddenly having to adjust to Malorek Rechior without being thrown into another world which had been repeatedly screwed over, it seemed. Having it's own evil sorceress to deal with _as well as_ a rampaging demoness. "We don't know how Judora got us here, and we have no idea how far away from Earth we are, _or_ if we're in the same galaxy, we could very well be in a different _dimension_! The sooner we help these people, the sooner we _get_ help! That's the only thing we _can_ do." She told him.

Malorek shut his mouth, "You're right, okay, just calm down." He said soothingly, gathering her up in his arms. Raven felt herself tense up, and she pulled her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as a wave of emotion was fighting to get out. "We'll get through this, trust me." He told her.

_I wish I could._ She thought. But how did he know if they'd ever be able to get back in time? How did he know that, if/when they _did_ get back, they wouldn't walk onto a situation like the one that occupied the planet they were currently on?

Raven let the tears seep out of her eyes, and she began to cry, unable to stop herself. Malorek stroked her hair, kissed the top of her head, and just held her until it was all released.

XP

A/N: Well, first thing's first, the apology, here goes, (Big breath): I'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYI'MSORRYYYYYYYY! I HAVE BEEN A BAD AUTHOR, A VERY BAD AUTHOR, I CRY IN SHAME AS I HAVE BEEN FAILING MISERABLY MY AUTHOR DUTIES! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD I'M SORRY (Yeah, like the world reads my fanfiction, haha)! I SHOULD DROWN MYSELF IN MY OWN SINK, SHAVE MY HEAD BALD, AND BATH IN TURKEY FEATHERS AS PENNANCE EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULDN'T DO A SINGLE THING TO MAKE THINGS BETTER IN FACT THEY WOULD MAKE THINGS WORSE BUT I'M STILL VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY SORRY!

Alright, now, second order of business, the explanation: Okay, firstly, I didn't exactly get carpel tunnel in my hand, no, it was kinda different, more like the _entire muscle_ had given out and was screaming at me for using it so much, so I had to stay off the keyboard anyway for a _really long_ time. Good news is, it's gone and there's no permanent damage to my hand, bad news is, I still can't write as much as I use to. The reasons for this are, 1: Mom's getting annoyed with me shutting myself up in my room all the time, so I have to go _outside_ for something at least once a day. 2: Job hunting is killing me, and I need another job because I need a bigger paycheck and 4 bucks an hour babysitting _does not cut it_. Now, as for why I've been taking so long, part of this is because I decided I was going to try and finish the rest of the chapters before I began to post them, yeah, _that_ worked. I've found that I can't concentrate on something unless there's a driving force behind it, namely reviews. So I _do have_ other chapters written, when I post them, however, depends on when I finish the next chapter. Also, I'll probably want to re-read some of this just to make sure I know where I'm going.

As an apology, I _might_ see about writing another one-shot like Forever Yours, but I don't know, I just seem to have lost my inspiration for this, and the depression factor is getting high because I feel _really_ guilty about going for so long without updating. I'M A FAILURE! I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD FINISH THIS AND NOW LOOK AT ME! ONE LITTLE DETOUR AND I'M OFF FOR MONTHS!

Okay, yeah, so, there are a few things you guys could do to help: Leave nice long reviews including guesses and suggestions about what's going to happen next. And talk to me, I NEED SOMEONE TO COMPLAIN TO ME ABOUT IT ALL! It's Friday night, and my AIM screen name is Rhea Hiryuu (gasp), so I'll probably stay on till I go to bed, which is usually around 3:00 in the morning. So yeah, just pop up with something like, "Hi this is (so-and-such) from I'm here to badger you about Spellfire. YOU ARE A VERY BAD AUTHOR FOR MAKING US WAIT SO LONG!" TALK TO ME! I'm feeling lonely, I have no one to talk to, I need someone to talk to, _besides_ my brother (who probably wouldn't read Spellbinder/fire if I tied him to the computer chair and glued his eyes open), and hopefully get back into my Spellfire kick! Because I have some really good stuff for the finish and it would be a complete shame if it all went to waste, so yeah. _Help_?


	29. Cross Hope

A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE! The last chapter has been reposted, if you read this and don't get anything that's happening, you probably didn't read the rest of the last chapter. So, just in case you have only been checking to see if there's a next chapter, you might want to go back and read the rest of chapter 28. Okidoki?

XP

It burned, almost like fire, but different. It reminded Raven of the images she'd seen of the sun on the television, where strips of it seemed to coil about, or become released from it to create a solar flair. The light's color was golden, like the sun, but also white, like the moon. Sometimes simultaneously, and other times it looked one color.

It was definitely a cross, a huge one, standing upon its own island, it wasn't as large as some of the buildings that had been able to keep themselves erect so far, but it was big enough to classify itself as a building. And in its light Raven could see that there were dozens of lesser demons, not close enough that the strips of smoky light would reach them, but hanging around in sections of land that surrounded it, swimming around and sometimes taking flight.

For a while, Raven could only stare at it, in spite of it's near blinding quality. She couldn't take her eyes off it, and also couldn't help but notice that it's light seemed to be muffled by the darkness, it didn't seem to illuminate the place as much as it probably should, and Raven could only guess why. But, the thing about it was, she'd seen that cross before.

"Ror-er, Malorek," She breathed, giving him an apologetic look, which he brushed off with a wave of his hand and nodded for her to continue. "That cross," She said, "It's the same, the same one as in my dream." She told him. "And this place, it seems so…familiar." She said, looking about. The area around the cross was definitely a lake, one that the city was built around, and whose waters were definitely far calmer than they should be.

"Probably from the dream." He said, frowning.

"Maybe but…" She shook her head, and continued to stare. "You think, this place, maybe…" She turned to Malorek, "Before we fell, I saw it, the white cloak, I saw it. It was exactly as it was in my dream, in all my dreams it feels. Out of my reach, and getting farther away from me. And then the Cross, what if this is where we were meant to be? What if the answer to everything is somehow in this world?" She asked. "What if our friend was from this world, and in return for helping us out, he or she somehow made it so Judora's spell sent us _here_ of all places?" She asked.

"Yeah, well if that's the case I don't fancy his chances against Judora, if he couldn't handle the problems in his own world…"

"But maybe this is something that only you, or I can fix, what if this Demon and Sorceress are more powerful than Judora? Remember, on a one on one match with Judora, I would win. And now, you definitely would as well. Judora's just so deadly to us because she _knows_ all of this and has been able to come up with ways to get around that rather efficiently. The only reason this didn't go as she planned was because of our friend, otherwise I imagine it would have worked. So, don't we owe it to them to help set this world right?" She asked.

Malorek paused, opened his mouth, and closed it again. He shook his head, "I still don't know, you told me about this 'friend', but I'm not sure they're entirely trustworthy, I mean, well, he didn't exactly show you his face, or approach you. He could have just asked and explained what he was going to do or something. Wouldn't it have been easier to help us kill of Judora first, and _then_ ask for help? He'd have gotten it that way, I'm sure." He said, scratching his chin in thought.

"…Good point." Raven said, considering. Why _hadn't_ their supposed friend avoided letting them see him or her? It didn't make sense.

"What tha—oh, you two again? Did you purposely follow us?" Asked a familiar male voice.

"No, we just came here to enjoy the view. That's the second time we've run into each other." Malorek mused, turning around to face the group they'd recently acquainted themselves with.

"This is one of the safest spots, right in The Cross's light yet not close enough to attract the attention of the guards. Though we're usually the only one's brave, or stupid, enough to get even this close." The girl, Shila, said.

In spit of the rather stifling effect of the area, the foursome's faces were all thrown into sharper relief, and Raven could make out hair styles and colors, as well as skin tones. She blinked, and squinted, they all seemed to have some form of dark hair, some of them were gray, others black, and their skin seemed to have been darkened. None of this was natural, which was quite obvious. Their clothing was all darkly colored, with blacks, grays, and even some browns in the mix. All designed for swift movement and protection, though she could see a few cleverly disguised gadgets on their wrists and feet. Most likely they had a sort of laser on their wrists, and something in their shoes that allowed them the ability to jump so high.

Also, it seemed, _they_ were easier to make out as well.

"Are you insane, woman? Wearing white in a place like this, I'd change that outfit fast if I were you." Said a dark gray headed man, he was rather big and muscular, with skin that looked tan, but Raven was sure it had been tattooed that color somehow. He had a harshly set face, not very handsome, but one that looked well rounded to the conditions of this world.

"So I'm beginning to feel." Raven said, glad, for some strange reason, that her hood was over her head and her cloak over her body.

Shila's hair was short and choppy, but she looked gaunt, thin, almost the opposite of her gray headed friend with a small frame and bony arms. She regarded Malorek with narrowed eyes. "Um, is that…your _hair_?" She asked, staring blankly at his silver locks.

"What this? Oh no, it's a helmet, very fashionable on my planet. Yes it's my hair, you think I'd walk around like this if it weren't natural?" He snapped. Raven put a hand on his shoulder, and he seemed to calm down under her touch.

"Stop. This is neither the time, nor the place." She told him simply.

"Actually, this would be the best time and place for a row. The Demon's a good ways away right now, we're in the light of The Cross, and we're on top of a building, meaning whoever looses will get thrown off rather quick and the battle will end quick, and with the guards feasting on the looser far enough away that we get a head start in getting away." Pointed out a rather scrawny, yet weather beaten youth with a mop of darkened brown hair.

"I'm so glad." Malorek muttered, looking over his shoulder at The Cross. "Well, we're not getting any answers standing around here. And I'm up for a good work out," He said to Raven, jerking his head towards The Cross.

"Don't be stupid!" Raven hissed before anyone else could, "You can't just go barreling in there like that!"

"What, you think I can't handle a few demons?" He asked, looking indignant.

"That's not it," Raven snapped, "You could attract the attention of this Sorceress real easily that way, and we don't know how powerful she is! She might already know we're here and is just _waiting_ for us to try something so she can trap us." She wanted to go on, but Malorek silenced her.

"You're too use to Judora," He said flatly, "I _don't think_ this sorceress will think the way _she_ does, and I seriously doubt she's quite as omnipotent-seeming as well. How the heck could she, for one, know we're here already unless she's specifically _looking_ for _us_, and, for another, know how powerful we are and how to trap us? Hm? I doubt anything she tries to throw at us right now would work, even if she _did_ know about us." He stated.

"Oh, think you're a big man don't you?" Hissed Gray Hair.

"Shut up, human, or I'll have your heart for supper." Malorek suddenly snapped, his temper rising and his eyes flashing a fierce violet.

"Malorek, what's gotten _into_ you! They didn't do anything to us!" Raven exclaimed.

Malorek looked at her, and the fire in his eyes dies, "Sorry," He muttered, sitting down and holding his head, "I don't know, negative vibes I suppose. There's too much of it in the air." He muttered.

Raven turned to the group, who were just staring at them, and sighed. "Sorry, you didn't ask for that, but for now, we're in the same boat as you." She said, sitting down beside Malorek.

Shila chuckled, "Wow, a peacemaker. Don't get many of those." She said, coming over to sit down near Raven. "So what's your name? I'm Shila." She asked.

"Raven, and this is Malorek." She answered.

"That's Grissom, there." She said, pointing to the big gray man, who relaxed and nodded, sitting down near enough that they were making an oddly shaped circle.

"Blade." Introduced the black haired Asian-looking boy who'd been silent the entire time. He sat down near Shila, as the last came over to Grissom.

"I'm Mace." Said the dark brown haired boy.

Malorek just grunted his greeting, not looking at anyone. Raven put her hand on his shoulder and scooted closer to comfort him. He placed his own hand on hers in a silent 'thank you'.

"So, ah, from another world, are you?" Asked Mace.

Raven nodded, "We think we were sent here to help, but…" She trailed, looking up into the sky. There were no stars, just thick black clouds it seemed. "A demon that powerful…I don't think I've ever faced one that was resistant to rosary." She said. Never mind that she _was_ one, well, in human form anyway. As a demon she wasn't too sure.

"Hey, if you can get a handful of people and take them with you back to your world, it'd be a start. You might come back and sneak some more." Shila said.

"No, adding to our own world's population would hardly be the answer. This is your home." Malorek suddenly came up. "I'm sure it'll be a chore to rebuild, but you've survived this long, haven't you? And you've already colonized your moon, meaning you've somehow managed to cultivate it and get proper food sources from it. After getting rid of The Sorceress and The Demon, somehow, it would be a simple matter of searching out all the little minions and getting rid of them. You could probably put them to work, show them what it's like to be oppressed and all." He said.

"And just _how_ are we suppose to get rid of our two main oppressors?" Asked Grissom, fighting to keep the edge of his voice down.

"Excuse me, 'we'? There's no 'we' in this. Raven and I will be getting rid of these two, you just have to stay alive while we figure out a good way of doing it." Malorek said.

"Malorek, I'm not sure,"

"You know, Raven, I'm beginning to think that you believe I'm not powerful enough to handle a bloody _sorceress_. Judora's got nothing on me now that I'm whole, and unless this sorceress is a demi-god, I doubt _she_ does either." He said.

"That's the point, what if she _is_?" Raven asked.

"She can't be, if she has to hide behind a bloody cross just to hold her own against a demon, high or not. And _you're_ no weakling either, may I remind you? You're being a little too cautious about this,"

"Mainly because every time we've taken risks so far we've ended up doing _exactly_ what our enemy wants us to!" Raven interrupted.

"This is _not_ our enemy, and this is _not_ our world. They don't know us here, so there's no way this sorceress will be able to do anything about it." Malorek pointed out.

"And what happens if we're underestimating her? What happens if she's somehow a contact to Judora and knows _exactly_ who we are, and what to do with us?" Raven asked.

"Well, then she'll only have that kind of information on_ you_ won't she? It wasn't in Judora's plan for me to get sent here too, remember?" he answered.

"Uh, can we save this lover's quarrel for another time?" Asked Shila. Raven looked over, and found she was standing up, and staring at something in the distance. She stood up as well, and looked.

"What's that?" She asked, seeing something, something she could only see because of its lights, dip through the clouds above, and descending, seemingly to go straight towards them.

"A shuttle!" Gasped Grissom. "Are they _insane_! What the f333 are they playing at!" He cried, just as the steady sound of wind reached their ears.

"They're mad, landing here where there are the most guards about, I don't believe this." Spat Mace. "Come on, we'd better get inside before it lands, don't want to be spotted by the guards." He said, gesturing to the door, which would lead them beneath the top of the building.

"Right, coming?" Shila asked Raven.

But she shook her head, "If we can save the shuttle, you might be able to get to the Moon Colonies on it." She told them.

"Alright, we'll see." She said, running to the door with her three male companions, "Us, we've not got a magical bone in our body, so we'll just be out of the way." She called before the door closed.

Raven and Malorek watched the shuttle as it made its decent upon an uneven building top not too far from them. And no sooner had it landed than what seemed to be hundreds of demons began to swarm towards it, most coming out of the lake and taking flight towards it, their wings making a chorus of loud rustling sounds as they flew towards it. And they didn't ignore Raven and Malorek either, several split from the original swarm, coming at them, their huge fangs bared as they swooped.

"_Argenteus, Cendere, Spiritus_!" Malorek cried.

"_Necronom, Hesburek, Mortix_!" Raven exclaimed.

If The Sorceress hadn't known they were there before, she would now. Not only did a wave of silver flames erupt and send the sky ablaze with their inferno, but dark violets, reds, and blues in black seemed to cradle these flames, twist in them, and then spread throughout the sky, crackling as flicks of it destroyed any demons who were trying to get away from the entity-like mass it had become.

When Malorek and Raven stopped sending their power into the mass, it stayed, hovering for a space of time to seek out stragglers, and then dissipating, leaving but a few demons.

Unfortunately, these that were spared had wasted no time in gawking, they'd run over to the shuttle and were currently in the process of ripping it's pilot up in two before Raven and Malorek got there. However the pilot seemed to be able to defend himself somehow as he had yet to be demon food.

Raven and Malorek teleported. There were three demons, Malorek grabbed one and ripped its head off its shoulders, Raven took hold of another using her natural power to levitate, and held him still so she could send a beam of destruction at him, and the third, having no other buddies to distract the pilot, suddenly found himself headless as well.

"Thanks." Huffed a young, male voice. "I don't know who you are or, how you did that," He gasped, "But we owe you, big time. Especially me." He said.

"What, were you on some kind of suicide mission!" Malorek snapped, "You could have been killed! And what's with the outfit, you look like—" Malorek stopped abruptly, and Raven turned to stare.

_No, it can't be, but, what a coincidence._ She thought, looking the youth up and down. He had a full body suite on, one that covered his _entire_ body, somehow the suite covered his lips and eyes as well, but allowed him the ability to speak with an opening that didn't fall off the mouth. His nose was covered, and his eyes were just white places, sort of like Robin's mask. But the thing about him was he had two tall ears, and a red bat symbol on his chest.

"Someone you know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow that amounted to little more than one of the white spaces stretching open.

Raven shook her head, "Doesn't matter, what were you planning?" She asked him. He pointed, and the two of them turned to look.

A boatload of people, several of them, all with guns, had just landed on the island where The Cross was at, and filling towards it with goggles on, probably to keep out the light.

"Oooooh, I get it. You were planning to lure all the demons to you, so your friends would have time to get a piece of The Cross and get back without too many of them to deal with. That was quite risky." Malorek said, but the boy wasn't listening.

"What? You're not making any sense." He was muttering, two hands on his temple as though he were listening to something. He then turned to Raven. "Um, this is going to sound really strange, but is your name Raven?" He asked.

Raven whipped all the way around to face him, "_How do you know my name_?" She asked, staring at him, wide-eyed.

The boy's eyes widened and he just stared, from her, to Malorek, and then back again. "Your not, you can't…no, that's not…" He muttered, shaking his head. "It's impossible, but…would you lower your hood?" he asked.

Raven did as he asked, not seeing what the point in this was suppose to be. The boy held his hand to his temple again, "Alright! Alright I get it!" He muttered to whoever seemed to be yelling in his ear. "Come on, it's not safe for you here." He said, gesturing to the shuttle.

"Are you sure we'll fit?" Asked Raven, looking at it as she put her hood back over her head automatically.

"There's enough room for 12 people if you squeeze, come on." He said.

"Then can we fit 4 more?" Asked Malorek abruptly.

"What!"

Raven shook her head, clutching it. Her mind was reeling, but years of training stopped it, and she focused on the matter at hand. "Four more people, I'll get them, I'll be quick." She said, teleporting to the other building.

She was lucky, the group had come out to see what was going on, and were currently goggling at Raven. "You did it? You killed them off? I don't believe it." Shila said.

"No time for that, we were able to save the shuttle, and it'll be able to take us to the Moon Colonies." She said swiftly, grabbing Shila. "Join hands everyone, _questions can wait_." She told them. There was no guarantee that the youth was going to wait for very long.

Numbly, they did as she asked, and she teleported them all to the next building with surprising ease. The youth was ready, he had the shuttle open from the back. "Come on." He said, not looking at all loath to take some people back.

"What about your friends?" Malorek asked, gesturing his head towards The Cross.

"They've got their own way back. I was on a suicide mission, remember?" The youth replied as Raven followed the four into the shuttle.

He had been right, Raven could definitely see how 12 people could fit inside, even though it looked like it had barely enough passenger space for two from the outside. She brushed this away and sat down in a chair. Malorek took the one next to her's in the pair. Shila and Grissom were in the set next to them, and next to them sat Blade and Mace. There were two more seats just behind the single driver's chair, but that was it.

This world's batman closed the hold and slipped into the driver seat swiftly. He fired up the engine with such speed, it felt like they were in the air only a second after he sat down. Well, that made sense, if you were going to have a shuttle coming down to the main planet, it had better be able to take off in the blink of an eye, especially if the driver is being chased by guards.

Soon they were in the clouds, which looked just as black inside as they did outside, and not long after that they were over them, the sun burning brightly and brilliantly. The four tagalongs gasped, and Shila let out an "oh!"

"Haven't you seen the sun?" Asked Malorek curiously.

"No!" Shila answered, unable to conceal the wonder in her voice.

"Sometimes the clouds thin and we can see better than today, but they've never dispersed completely. Not around Cross Hope." Grissom told them.

"Why?" Asked Raven. "I mean, what's the point?"

He shrugged, "Make the place seem more gloomy than it already is I suppose."

"Or, make us more miserable than we already are, I'll wager." Said Mace.

When they began to break the atmosphere, Raven had expected to feel the G-force, but she felt nothing. They seemed to get through it without any problems. Apparently the devastation of the main planet had not kept the Moon Colonies from advancing in technology. And when they had done so, the youth driving let out a slow sigh of relief, which seemed to erase all the tension inside the capsule.

"We'll have to orbit a bit in order to reach the moon, but that won't take long." He said, he then turned around in his seat and looked straight at Raven, "Once there, I'm sure my superior will be able to explain what the heck is going on because I have about as good an idea as you probably do."

"How you know my name would be a good start to this conversation." Raven told him, lowering her hood again to frown at him.

"Well, honestly, it could be a coincidence. The old man's getting on in years, he could be delusional." He answered, turning his seat around, apparently having engaged the autopilot. "But for some reason he shouted your name in my ear when I saw you."

"Say what?" Both Raven _and_ Shila asked at the same time.

"He's able to see through this suite, so he knows what's happening, he can also hear through it as well. I imagine the reason he isn't bantering me for calling him delusional is because he's no longer at the controls. Probably overseeing the return of the others." He said.

"So why were _you_ chosen to be the suicide agent for this?" Asked Malorek. "You don't seem much older than 17."

"Um, that's _Batman_, he's at the top of The Sorceress's To-Kill list, and is still alive." Mace said. Raven's eyes widened, and she looked from Mace to the youth in front of them.

"Second to top," he corrected. "But we're unable to make contact with the trio who's gotten to the top, and even if we could, they'd be irreplaceable. Still, I was enough to get all of the guards coming after me, wasn't I?" He asked.

"I was wondering why they all felt the need to attack you." Malorek muttered.

"Wanted a piece of the glory, no doubt!" Mace exclaimed, regarding 'Batman' with a look of deep respect.

"But how would you know Raven? I mean, they're from another planet." Shila said.

Batman shook his head, "I don't know, we'll have to wait until we get to the Colonies to figure that out. Maybe you once helped our planet out before?" He asked her.

She considered, "It's…possible." Yes, it was also possible that Batman had become known to this planet as well and they recreated him. She'd have to ask this 'supirior'.

"There it is!" Mace exclaimed, pointing. Everyone turned to look, and saw the moon coming slowly closer to them.

Even from this distance Raven could see the cultivation. Huge dome structures built on the surface, within them were large cities, some with plant-life, and one she saw that had a huge lake in it. They headed for one of the smaller city structures, which looked to be more like a sort of headquarters as there were few colors to it, and were soon landing inside what could only be a docking area.

Batman waited for the door to close, and then the outside voice to tell them it was safe to exit, before he opened the ship again.

"I don't believe it, we're actually here, on the moon. It's so unreal." Shila breathed as everyone unbuckled.

"Ironic that the ones who we thought would get us into some major s611 ended up being the ones who saved us." Grissom pointed out. "We owe you big time." He said to the two.

Raven just shrugged it off and turned to Batman, "So when do we get to me—" But she was cut off by a loud scream, issuing from a woman with short red hair and blue eyes.

"Oh Terri! You're alive! You're alive! Oh my goodness, when he told us, you wouldn't _imagine_, you're still here!" She cried, and she grabbed the youth into her arms and sobbed.

Terri pulled back the hood of his outfit, revealing a young man, definitely no older than 17, with a handsome face, cropped black hair, and eyes like the woman, and he bent down to hug her back. "It's okay, Mom, I'm sorry for putting you through all this but,"

"It had to be done, I know." She wept. The woman then pushed herself back, wiping her eyes frantically. "And it worked Terri, the others came back safely and with ample amounts of The Cross! Well," She pulled herself up, and turned towards the rest of them, "We'll have to arrange your living quarters, of course." She huffed, "And where you're working, I'll get Padin to make sure you're together. Oh my," She said, suddenly noticing the oddity that was Raven and Malorek. "Who—"

"They're from another world." Shila said. "They said they're here to help, and they did help, they're the reason Batman's still alive. They're magic users, and powerful ones." She gave Raven a smirk.

"Oh!" The woman gasped, and then she beamed at the two of them, "I don't know how to thank you!" She exclaimed, tears still glittering in her eyes through her bright smile.

"Gratitude accepted, but the boy will be needing to see a healer." Malorek told her, pointing to a spot on Terri where a bright red patch of blood just surfaced.

"Oh goodness, yes, Terri, off to the infirmary ward with you! Come along, let's not waste time in the hanger." She said, gesturing for them all to follow her through the door she'd come out of.

The woman fussed over her son, who had to tell her several times that he was, indeed, alive and going to live, until they found themselves, having gone through several halls, into what looked like a sort of waiting room, where a single aged man was sitting, leaning somewhat on his cane. He had a large build, and looked as though he had been quite the athlete in his younger days, but now his eyes were closed, either in thought, or a doze, it was hard to tell.

"Oh, um, Mr. Wa—" Terri's mom said, but this time was the one interrupted.

"YOU! How the f—what the, YOU!" Malorek cried, his tongue fumbling, and his eyes wearing an expression of extreme shock and confusion. Raven stared at him, then at the old man who merely looked up, calmly. Not seeming at all surprised at the sight of them, nor, it seemed, having been awakened suddenly.

"Malorek, what—"

"Malorek, eh?" Said the man's deep voice, withered slightly, but still the same, and unmistakable. He turned to Raven, who's face was twisting into a look of dawning comprehension. "It's, been a long time." He sighed, surveying her rather oddly, "I remember, the last time I saw you like that. Raven, you're not in another world." He said. "This is Earth, it's your own world."

"Bruce Wayne?" She breathed. He nodded.

XP

A/N: Well now, isn't this a twist? Heheheheh. Yeah, some of you figured out what was going on already, but I'm about to run out the door and cash a check so I don't really have time to do individual reviews this time, sorry!


	30. Gaining Friends

A/N: …. Swallows hard Hi?

XP

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm lost. How do you know each other? And what do you mean by, 'this is Earth, your own world'? They're not from around here! If they were, they'd have known all about The Demon and The Sorceress and everything!" Mace pointed out.

Bruce looked at them, "Maybe you all should leave." He said. "Mrs. Magnus, please escort Terri to the infirmary, and get those four situated." He instructed.

"Er, of course." Terri's mother said, breathless.

"Hang on! We're their friends, we—" Shila tried.

"_Go_." Malorek snapped. Raven suddenly realized he was clutching her tightly, as if shielding her from what was going to come. But she was hardly paying attention to what was going on.

"We're in…the future…she sent us…to the future…this is…no…" She whispered, clutching her head.

"Raven?" Shila questioned, coming to her side in concern.

"No!" She suddenly burst, "W-where's Robin then! And Starfire, and Beast Boy, Cyborg, Zacroma, where's _Chire'ni_!" She demanded shrilly. The entire room seemed to be silent, everyone was staring at her now, but she ignored them, she brushed Malorek's hand away from her shoulder. "They'd be adults now, right! They could…they could…" She trailed off with a choke. "Where's…_me_?" She asked in a whisper.

Bruce gave her a stern look, and then shook his head. "Dead, all of them. Though I don't know about this 'Chire'ni', I never met her and don't know if she's still around. As for you…I think you already know the answer to that." He stood up, leaning heavily on his crutch, and gave Raven a look of utmost sympathy.

"N-no…" She said, shaking her head in denial.

"What's the matter?" Shila tried again. Raven was vaguely aware of the girl's hand coming to her shoulder.

Bruice took a deep breath, "About 50 years ago, roughly, a catastrophe, the like of which no one could have foreseen, nor fought against, took place on Earth. As most of you know. At the same time, a group of particularly bright super heroes, possibly the only ones who could have fought against it, died. My own sidekick for a while, Robin, the Temeranian Princess, Starfire, the Changling, Beast Boy, the robotic man, Cyborg, and the powerful mystic, Raven." He nodded to her. "Along with three new members, named Zacroma, Malchior, and Rorek.

"But there came an enemy that they were unable to defeat, an enemy, who today is known only as The Sorceress, for people have long since stopped saying her name. She summoned The Demon, and this band, called the Teen Titans, fell before it's might. Unfortunately for her, it turned around and tried to kill her as well, thus resulting in the 50 year reign of terror The Demon has caused, and the lingering 'stability' that The Sorceress has been able to keep up, just so that we all suffer. No one really knows what happened, and we are unable to contact the three who know the most about it all. I'm fairly sure you've guessed who The Sorceress is, haven't you?"

"Judora." Malorek hissed. Terri suddenly jumped and his mother let out a scream. Raven couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter because of this, in spite of what was currently going on in her head.

"S-so that's, that's _her_ name, is it?" Mace swallowed, looking pale. "Didn't they say that to speak it was a curse in itself?" He whispered.

All four of them were looking scared, but Grissom and Shila were staring intently at Raven, they didn't ask questions, but their eyes reflected a growing comprehension. "But, so, so Raven didn't really die, she just, came here, for some reason?" Shila asked.

"It's beginning to look that way." Bruce said, with a nod.

"Stop." Raven said flatly, and everyone stared at her, "You can stop sugar coating it, Bruce," She told him, her hair shading her eyes from view. "Avoiding it…it won't do any good, all it'll do is grant me a piece of mind, but we can't afford it. Not…not if I'm going to change this future." She said, raising her head finally, "If we're going to make sure none of this ever happens, we have to have a clear, precise view of what happened, and what's happening."

The two of them stared at one another, and everyone was staring at Raven, save for Malorek, who was bowing his head, shading his eyes from view with his own hair. For a while, no one spoke, and then Raven bowed her head, "Judora won," Her shoulder's fell, "She did it, obviously it didn't go all according to plan but, she still…" She swallowed, feeling tears about to fall down her cheeks. "It's me, isn't it? That thing, The Demon, that's me. The thing I spent my entire life fighting against…I lost, and I killed them." She choked on a sob, and buried her face in her hands, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Bruce nodded, and looked away, but Malorek grabbed Raven and held her tightly to his chest in a protective manner. He glared furiously at the rest of them, eyes burning with fire at the white faces, some still confused, others disbelieving, but a few supporting a growing fear beneath their eyes. "_Out_." He growled, his voice reaching an inhuman sound. "_And not a word of this to anyone or so help me I will rip out your insides and stuff them down your throats._" He told them, slowly and dangerously.

Quietly, and swiftly, everyone but Bruce left the room. Bruce took a deep breath. "Come on, I'll show you to an empty room you can stay in." He said, walking with his crutch over to another door.

Malorek brought one arm up around her legs and picked her up so that it was like she was sitting on one arm and being held in place by the other. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his scarf, not wanting to look up, not wanting to speak. He just carried her, numbly, to wherever Bruce was taking them.

XD

**I won't let it happen, no, I've worked too hard for this, far too hard. I'm pure now, that won't change…but what if it does? What if this is our future no matter what I do?** Quiet little thoughts began to rise in the back of Raven's mind, like memories, but she stifled them. **No, it can change, it _can_.** She thought forcibly to herself. _So why hasn't it already?_

If things weren't going to work out this way, if she _could_ change it, why did this future happen in the first place? If she changed it, then she wouldn't know to change it in the past, and what if she tried, but that caused her transformation in the first place? Why did time have to be so darn confusing?

Raven's eyes fluttered open, seeing a relatively decent sized room, plane, but with what she took to be a couch, a television, refrigerator, desk, and bathroom door. She took this in only a moment before noticing the unnatural warmth pressed to her back, and the lean, yet powerful arm around her waist. Slowly, she turned around, facing Malorek's bear chest, and looking up to see his face still in a relaxed position. He was still asleep, apparently, and the fact that her leotard and his pants were still on their skin gave her some comfort.

Slowly, she reached a hand up and brushed away some of the hair that was hiding his face from view. Raven couldn't help but marvel at what a beautiful creature he was, such perfect skin, painfully handsome features, just feminine enough to make them irresistible to any woman. Full lips, long lashes, and hair which gave him an ethereal touch that he didn't need, but certainly made him all the more mystical. She couldn't help but run her fingers through it again, it was so soft, and felt as though it never tangled, _ever_, as her fingers just went right through it, as though it were made of liquid metal somehow.

Gently, she pressed her lips to his for just a moment, but that seemed enough to rouse him. He took in a deep breath, and tightened his arm's hold on her, opening his eyes. She curled her hand around the back of his head and kissed him again, only this time more passionately. He returned it, breathing in deeply through his nose as he pulled her under him in order to deepen it, and soon their tongues were intermingling with each other, sending shocks of electric pleasure through their bodies.

Raven's darker side was struggling out, and she began to fight for dominance, rolling over on top of him. But Malorek didn't seem to be _quite_ as keen on this as Malchior had, either because he didn't enjoy it as much, or he wasn't so desperate for Raven's attention he'd put up with anything, she wasn't sure. As it was, he soon had her back under him, his hands pinning her wrists down to the bed as he began to kiss her possessively, asserting complete dominancy, for about two seconds. Raven refused to be owned, she didn't need her darker side to come out and say _that_. She pushed him off her with strength that surprised them both, and sprang back on him, though this time suppressing the urge to take possession of _him_, and merely kissing him lovingly, massaging his shoulders and melting into his embrace. He seemed to agree to this, and didn't push any farther.

It seemed like forever before they stopped, but it soon became apparent that if they didn't, the meager amount of clothes they _did_ have on would most likely disappear, and they both agreed that this neither the time, nor the place for that.

Raven found her cloak, boots, and belt where she'd left them the night before and put them on as Malorek began slipping back into his own attire. They did all this wordlessly, but after Malorek finished, he came over and wrapped his arms around Raven, "Are you alright?" He whispered.

She rested her head on the familiar metal plate, cool and somewhat soothing, if rather ill adapt for any kind of snuggling, and sighed. "No." She answered truthfully.

"I won't let it happen, Raven." He told her firmly.

"But what if…what if we have no choice? What if, whatever we do, we did in the 'past' and it ended up being the same exact thing?" She asked.

"Listen, Raven, we can make this change, we can _force_ it to. Remember what you have with you?" He told her. When she just looked at him, he went on, "_Angel blood_!" She jumped, and her eyes widened at the realization.

"Use it the right way and…we might even be able to effect time and space." She murmured.

"We could send ourselves back to the exact same time that we were thrown into that vortex." He said.

"_How_, though? I may know a lot of spells and have a good amount of power and ability when manipulating blood in demon form, but I don't have anywhere near the stock of spells and incantations that Judora does, I wouldn't know where to begin, even if I _did_ have my books! Sure I remember a few passages and all but—"

"Are you forgetting who you _were_ in a past life?" Malorek asked, beginning to look exasperated. "_Avelona_, The White Magus herself! Those books and mentions we have of you in that time period don't come close to describing the vastness of your knowledge. I swear, sometimes I thought there was no limit, you seemed to have such an utter and complete understanding of everything magical, or even merely paranormal, that there seemed to be nothing you couldn't do. And you had the power to back it all up, not to mention physical endurance. There was no spell you could neither break nor cast, no action or objective you couldn't accomplish, and no goal that you didn't meet and pass. You _will_ find a way to change this, I know you will." He told her.

Raven just looked at him, "But I'm _not_ Avelona." She said.

"I know you're not, you are Raven. However, you used Avelona's own power chant against those demons back on Earth." He said quietly, pressing his lips to the jewel on her forehead.

"That? But that was, I learned that from you, er, your darker half, remember?" She asked.

"All I did was teach you the words. No one but you could ever actually use that particular chant. And, did you know, you were the one who invented the power chant in the first place? Taught it to me, and told me that everyone's chant was different." He said.

"But most of the people on Azarath can use the one I had been—"

"A _proper_ power chant is unique to the individual person, let me correct myself." He told her. "That was more of a sort of…well it seemed like an attempt to recreate the entire concept, or it is the result of it going through too many generations to keep it's proper form. But the one you did use, was yours."

"So why couldn't I accomplish it properly that…one time…?" She asked, thinking back to when she had nearly killed a little girl with her recklessness.

"You'd only just begun obtaining your original powers, trying to use it then would, of course, have been dangerous." He told her.

"But you said when I came back—"

"And just how was I suppose to know you'd tried to use that power chant? All _you_ said was an accusation of me teaching you dark magic, which I was. If I had known, I'd have realized who you were." He answered swiftly.

She shut her mouth, "Oh." She said. "So…am I just suppose to remember something to help us with this? Because right now, my mind is drawing a blank."

"Not now, but as you gain more memories, I'm sure you will obtain some of your magic as well. Admittedly, you _are_ weaker than your past self, but I have a feeling it is only for the time being." He told her.

"I know I am, in this form anyway. But…I don't get it. _Why_ did Judora send us back here? Did she mean to? I mean, surely we come back at one point, if, well, _I'm_ currently in two places at the same time." She said. "But…when? And why did I…revert, in the first place?" She asked. "I mean, what went wrong? The me that Judora was aiming for was the one who cooperated with _him_ and would have happily fulfill my 'duty'. This other form…it's not at all what she wanted, so what went wrong? Why did it happen?"

"Maybe…hangman's blood reacted strangely with your system? Maybe it was from a particularly prolonged hanging or something and you went overboard." He suggested. "She might have tried another method, a number of things could have gone wrong."

"_But what was it_?" Raven persisted, "Judora's become wise to us, she wouldn't make that sort of mistake…even though she's _been_ making mistakes, apparently. But still, if I knew why, how exactly it happened, I might be able to prevent it, guard myself against it somehow."

"Let's start one step at a time, and step one can be figuring out that cross." He said.

"They should have tried to process a piece of it by now." Raven mused, "Let try and see if they found anything particular."

XD

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND!" A familiar female voice shouted, "Listen to me, all of you! _Raven is our friend_, she went out of her way to get us here, she _saved_ us, she even went so far as to keep the piece between her man and us. You saw her, you heard her, _she_ is _not_ The Demon!"

"Shila, you know very well—"

"I know very well that she might be the _past_ form, but she isn't the same! _She_ has a soul, a _human_ soul, and she has _human_ emotions. She is our friend." Shila snapped.

"But you can't deny that if we killed her now, none of this would have ever hap—"

"You're exactly right," Raven said, "None of this would have ever happened, and that would erase the need to kill me, wouldn't it? So how would you know to kill me?" She asked. Everyone stared at her, most startled, and two of them looking a little frightened. "It would create a paradox, I imagine it might have already happened once, but time would have corrected itself and snapped back on track." She said.

"S-so how do you plan on changing time without creating a paradox?" Grissom dared. Raven might have thought it amusing that such a big man was regarding a small girl like her with a huge amount of concealed fear, if the situation had been different.

Raven stopped, and bit her lip, how _was_ she going to— "_Ahem_." Malorek coughed, "We have a way." He said, giving Raven a rather stern look. _Oh, right, Zacroma's blood._

"What's that?" Asked Shila, eyes wide with interest.

"There's a way, we might be able to, to _alter_ space, time, and reality, but…" Raven sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, and screwed her face up in thought, "We're going to need to know just about everything that had to do with that night about 50 years ago. That'll include knowing where The Cross came from, and, probably," She grimaced, "Cornering what is likely a much more powerful and apt Judora than what we are use to. Who, I'm certain, already knows we're here." She gave Malorek a significant look, and he coughed.

"Well, at the time we thought this was another world but, yes, she probably does." He frowned, "At least we have some idea of how her mind works."

"Yeah, with several gears unhinged." Raven muttered darkly. A sound caused her to look up, and she found, to her shock, four faces fighting back grins, two failing miserably.

"Bearing that in mind, and her habit of gloating profusely when she has the upper hand, perhaps we can use this to our advantage." Malorek said.

"Um, _how_?" Mace questioned.

"Her style is to get me into a corner, and then revel about it out loud. What we need to do is figure out a way of making it _look_ like she has a hand over me, without that actually happening. She _loves_ to gloat, so I'm pretty sure I could get all the information we could possibly need from her. The only problem being, how to get into that situation without making it look suspicious." Raven mused.

"Well, getting _into_ her clutches will be easy, all you have to do is cast a spell, and stay in the same place long enough for her to cast a circle. The problem will be actually getting _out_ of her clutches, but I think I know how we can do that." Malorek said.

"How?" Asked Shila.

Malorek looked at Raven, his head tilted a bit, "It's, well, a rather difficult spell, but what we could do is place our own sort of, _mark_ on a particular spot, and the way we'd want to do it is to have some item placed where it would be covered with the mark, and then remove it from that place. Work the spell properly, and Raven could teleport _right through_ any barriers or obstacles as if they weren't there, and come back to the place where the mark had been made the moment she cast the other half of the spell on the object. Though, ah, I think we should use a…_different_ mark, _other_ than a circle." He said.

"Like a Star of David?" She asked.

"A what?"

"A five point star, with one of the points facing up while two are going down at angles." She answered, using her fingers to point, "If you turn it around and have the one point going down, it's the Devil's Star. But I think it's obvious which we might prefer."

"Isn't that what Judora uses? The Devil's Star?" Asked Malorek.

"No, most circles are made with six point stars, that's what she uses. The Star of David and the Devil's Star are sometimes too easily mixed up, you have to make sure you're facing it in _exactly_ the right direction or it could become one or the other, so they're not used very often because it can be dangerous, to both sides. There have even been times when a caster has stood at an angle that's _right in between_ the two, and ended up killing himself even though he was only trying to summon a bird. But if we did it right, and used the Star of David as our mark, I doubt anything Judora might try will keep me from being able to use it." She said considering.

"Okay, so, why in the world would it _matter_ which star you used so long as it's a star?" Asked Shila. Raven looked at them, and found that each and every one of them were looking thoroughly bemused.

She shook her head, "Sorry, I forgot you might not be able to follow. See, magic has just as many restrictions and rules as science, possibly more. The trick is getting around those rules, by operating within their confines. The different stars matter because of the negative and positive effects of them. It'll be easier to keep Judora from both noticing and being able to manipulate the spell if we use a powerful positive force. Obviously, her affinity is dark magic."

"There's good magic?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course there is!" Malorek answered grumpily, "Granted, most magic is more of a user-purpose type thing, it's in the middle, neither good nor bad. It just depends on who's casting it. But _some_ magic, well, dark magic's only purpose is to devour and destroy, cause chaos and all that. While light magic heals, makes order, and nurtures. Basic natural drives, however light magic _can_ be bent to do rather…unfavorable things. While sometimes dark magic is needed to fight against dark magic. Fighting fire with fire, that sort of thing. All you've seen is the kind of magic Judora uses, which is demonic magic, obviously." He explained.

"Okay, okay, I get it." He said, holding his hands up in defense.

"Is there any way we can help?" Asked Shila.

"Yes, unfortunately…" Raven said, frowning deeply, "For you to be properly able to help at all, in such a way that we're not fearing for your lives, it would involve some…unfavorable prospects." She told them.

"Like what?" She questioned, looking as though she didn't really care if it meant helping.

"Blood transfusion, with me." Raven answered.

"Ah! Like what you did with those three guys, what were their names?" Malorek asked.

"Daniel, Michael, and Shade." She answered. "And yes." She looked at their faces, and wasn't at all surprised to see that no one looked willing anymore, even Shila seemed to be having second thoughts, but then her head perked up.

"Hey wait a moment! Those are the names of those three, remember?" She asked the others, "The three who The Sor—Judora wants killed more than anyone else, but can't do it!"

"_What_!" Raven gasped. "They're, they're alive!" She said.

"They're the only three people yo—er, The Demon can't kill either. I think that's why Judora wants them dead." Shila answered.

"Of course," Raven whispered, "They must be the only one's alive that I could count as friends, and with them around, there's still a chance that I can return to normal. Of _course_ Judora would want them killed. But if they didn't go anywhere near Cross Hope, she wouldn't dare go out to get them herself, and any demons she sent after them were probably either killed by them, or _me_ before it could find them. They have to have _some_ idea as to what happened, we have to find them!" She said.

"That might not be true, Raven. Remember they weren't with us, they probably have about as good an idea as we do." Malorek told her.

"We still have to try." She said.

"_So how can we help_?" Shila persisted. Raven looked at her.

"Are you sure—"

"Dead sure. If it's the same thing you did to those three, well, I want to help, I told you that. Though I don't know about them." She said, giving her three male companions a reproachful sniff as she gestured to them.

"I'll do it." said a quiet voice. Raven blinked, and then looked at Blade oddly. That had been the first time he'd spoken at all since telling them his name. She'd suspected him to be timid and rather cowardly at first.

The other three seemed just as surprised by this pronouncement as she was. But he just looked at them, not at all frightened or ashamed, "I will." He said softly, he looked at Raven, "What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Wait. Shila will have to be first. But before I start, I suppose you two are backing out?" She asked, looking at Grissom and Mace.

"Heck no! I'm in!" Mace answered, apparently wanting to prove himself now.

Raven looked at Grissom, who looked right back at her, as if studying her. His shoulders then relaxed, "I'm going to trust Shila's judgment. If she sees you as a friend, then so do I." He proclaimed. Shila beamed at them.

"Need this?" Asked Malchior, holding out a dagger to Raven. "I know you have your own dagger, but the blade is so sharp gently touching it will make you bleed, so it'll be less work for them to use it." He explained when she was about to protest.

"W-what? Use it, for what?" Asked Mace, suddenly nervous.

Raven took the dagger. "What do you think? I told you we'd need to perform blood transfusion."

"Yeah but, I thought we'd do that with, I dunno, medical staff at hand?" He said, shifting anxiously.

Raven sighed and leered at him. "Does it _look_ like we'll be getting a medical staff in the next five seconds? Time is not on our side here, the longer Judora knows I'm here, the longer she has to sort out some twisted scheme." She said. "Now brace yourselves, this might come as a bit of a shock." She said, putting the blade to her palm and applying pressure. Malorek was right, it _was_ very easy to draw blood with this blade.

The next moment her wound had healed, and she was looking at a paper white hand through two sets of eyes. Shila barely stifled her shriek before it came out, and the rest of them had gasped. Raven held out the blade to Shila, **"Better do this quick before you change your mind."** She said, but her voice seemed to trigger something as Shila jumped back involuntarily. Raven didn't even flinch, but extended her arm a little further. **"I know this might be hard, but you have to trust that I am the same Raven you called your friend. All you see is a different form, with different flesh and appearance."** She consoled.

It took a moment, but Shila nodded, and took the dagger. "What do I do?" She asked, her voice surprisingly steady.

"**Cut your wrist open, try to get the ligament. We'll do this swiftly, and I'll warn you that the transaction will be a little…painful."** She said, reopening her own hand with a fingernail. Shila bit her lip, but did as asked swiftly, and without looking. Before the blood could drip down to the ground, Raven grabbed her wrist, making sure the wounds opened into each other. Shila gasped. **"Shila, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** She recited.

Shila let out a scream and fell to the floor, caught by Grissom who was now looking up at Raven with both fear and apprehension. "She's _alright_, idiot." Malorek muttered as Blade stepped forth, looking neither effected by Shila's reaction, nor apprehensive about what he had to do. He picked up the knife and slit his wrist without so much as flinching. Raven took the wrist.

"**Blade, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** Blade stifled a gasp, and slumped to the floor, clutching his wrist as it healed and his new power began to unfold within him. Raven picked up the knife and handed it to Mace, just as Shila was standing up, an expression of wonder on her face as she stared at her hands. He seemed to take this as a good sign, and, though with a cringe, opened up his own wrist. Raven grabbed it. **"Mace, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** She said once more.

He fell to the floor, just as Shila formed a knot of blue electricity in her hands, and then spreading it out, and began to have it dance about, making a circle. Grissom was gawking at her. "This is…this is so, so _amazing_." She breathed, bringing the crackling light down back into her hands and making it disappear.

"**Grissom?"** Raven said, holding the dagger out to him. Without a word, he took it and opened his wrist with it. **"Grissom, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold."** She said. He grabbed his wrist, but bit back a scream, and walked over to a couch where he sat down instead of curling up on the floor.

"**Shila's power, I think, is the most obvious. But Blade, you have the power to deafen the senses of any living being, and also the ability to move far more swiftly than a normal human. Mace, you can freeze anything you touch, even the air around you. And Grissom, you can turn things green." **She said.

"I can _what_?" He demanded, looking up at her incredulously, and finding her smiling.

"**I'm kidding."** She said, chuckling. **"You have heightened senses, as well as a form of ESP, and, if you concentrate hard enough, you might be able to destroy a simple mind. This should come in quite handy while dealing with lesser demons."** She told him. **"I'll be honest, each of you have been given, ah, some demon qualities as well. But don't worry, these only amount to an extra toughness, the ability to heal faster, and more endurance. And I think you have all been given the ability to fly, so that will come in handy."** She told them.

"Great. Er…you're not going to _stay_ like that, are you?" Asked Mace, shifting uncomfortably.

Raven smiled, **"Oh didn't you know? This is permanent, I'm going to be in this form forever even though I've transformed like this before and you just saw me human not too long ago. This particular transformation is irreversible."** She told them. Malorek snorted and started laughing, causing a chain reaction between the rest of them, even Grissom grinned, though he was fighting against it.

"Here." He said, slipping off his gauntlet and holding a bear wrist out for Raven.

"**Thanks."** She said, sinking her teeth gratefully into his skin. She released it soon, and saw her skin back to normal. "I have to drink some blood before I can change back, for energy so I'm not fainting afterwards." She explained to the stunned faces.

"Um, that makes sense, I guess." Shila said, though it was rather obvious she didn't understand a bit.

"So, what now? We have powers, what's our first course of action?" Grissom asked. Everyone turned to Raven, who couldn't help but feel like she was having to take on the roll that Robin was most suited for more and more often.

"It's obvious, we find out about that piece of The Cross they were so desperate to obtain." Raven answered. "And after that, we find those three that Judora wants dead so badly."

XP

A/N: Firstly, I would like to apologize, of course. There is no excuse for my laziness and lack of updates, I've simply been working on other…crap. Trying to explain myself will only use up useless reading time that you _could_ be spending on other fanfics with far more faithful authors than myself. Honestly, I have been banging my head on the counter for several months thinking "It's almost over, dangit! The story is almost complete, why must I lose interest now when it's just getting to the juicy fighting parts!"

I will say this though, one of the reasons for my lack of surprises is because I've used most of them up already, and now it's just time to lay everything out and get a move on so, maybe, I can forgive myself for letting down so many faithful reviewers! I do have a few more up my sleeve, but the surprises in this chapter were, I expect, rather obvious. The three Judora wants dead are probably obvious as well, but just in case they're not I'm revealing nothing here.

I suppose that's all I wanted to say… Puts on helmet and prepares for upcoming anger, though this might not be a good idea as dragon helmets are frigg'n expensive 


	31. Suspicions

A/N: I'M STILL GOING! ANOTHER CHAPTER! YESSSSSS!

XP

It'd taken a bit of poking around, but a few 'persuading' threats and bruised egos later, the 6 teens had found out where Bruce Wayne currently was. Took a bit of walking too, thankfully he was still in the same building complex, and were able to follow the directions all right. They found him in a room with a large computer screen, consoles, and the overall futuristic look to it with the metal walls that had seems in them which suggested hidden compartments and such. Bruce was currently watching what looked to be some sort of surveillance system. Windows of different areas, so many that some were overlapping each other, and one that was unmistakably a picture of the earth, some of it blanketed with thick black cloud, while other parts were allowed sunlight and white clouds.

"So?" Bruce asked turning around in his chair as the 6 teens filled into this room. He got up on his cane to meet them and was looking at Raven.

"We want to see what you found out about The Cross. Then we'll need a shuttle to Earth, and someway of contacting you." She answered. Shila and the others all nodded, making sure that Bruce knew they were all included when Raven said 'we'.

The man smirked, and got up. "The piece of The Cross we got showed us nothing on the computers, but perhaps you can make heads or tails of it." He said, walking over to a console and pressing a few buttons. A section of the wall opened up and he reached in for a large chunk of what almost appeared to be a fragment of the sun with white flicks mixed in with it, but less bright, and appearing to have lost some of its light because it wasn't even as bright as The Cross. Raven took it, and frowned.

"I'm not sure but I…wait…" She suddenly blinked, "Bruce, that, Cross Hope, did that use to be Jump City?" She asked suddenly.

He nodded solemnly.

"What does that have to…wait," Malorek said, clearly going along the same lines as Raven, "If there had been a bridge there…you said it looked familiar, you think…?" He said.

"What?" Shila demanded.

"The Cross, it was on an island in the lake and the setting was different, the bridge had obviously been torn down, but…that island is the exact same size, minus some of the stuff the demons obviously put there to sit on, and The Cross, it's also, but then…" She mumbled.

"Spit it out! What are you thinking!" Mace exclaimed.

"The Cross was once the T-Tower, base of the Teen Titans." Malorek said. "Or at least, it's in the same place as the T-Tower, but…what _happened_?" He asked.

"I don't know." Raven answered, racking her brain for answers, "But, the size of the T is the same, roughly anyways, I imagine the extra size is simply due to the light, but, how come it extended farther up?" She questioned, raising her hands to gesture.

"Can you think of anything that might have caused that, perhaps something in your room?" Malorek questioned. "Or something…" He blinked, and his eyes widened, "_On the roof_?"

Raven's jaw dropped, "_The kethnic water_!" She exclaimed.

"The _what_! Come on, people, us lowly humans aren't following!" Mace exclaimed, his voice even _more_ irritated now.

"I'm sorry but, this is…it's just too unreal. Fifty years…that water can absorb sunlight even through clouds, if the sun is there it can…fifty years of sunlight and moonlight." She began to pace, "But just one year would have been enough to make it start to overflow and wrap the Tower in light. And light that powerful…of _course_ it would make a full high demon weak! It would be pulsing with positive force that I wouldn't be able to stand. And that's why Judora can only use lesser demons as guards! Because the more powerful the demon, the more it would affect them. And Judora would have found a way of protecting herself from its effects, but even _she_ wouldn't be able to get close enough to destroy it, and even if she could, it's the only thing keeping _me_ from having enough power to kill her."

"So how do we use this to our advantage?" Asked Shila.

"Simple, we get to the top of the tower, and bottle some of that wa—" Raven stopped dead, her face fell into a look of realization, and confusion.

"What? What is it?" Malorek asked.

Raven set the glowing rock down, and put her hand over the dimensional gem that Malchior had crafted for her, and summoned the bottle that she and the other Titans had found among all those demon carcasses. The light coming from the small amount of water in the bottom was bright, and when she opened the top, it began to spill out in the exact same manner that the light on the fragment of The Cross was moving about. She then closed it, and looked at Malorek, expecting to see a look of comprehension on his face, but instead she was met with wide eyes, staring at the bottle.

"Raven…that bottle…"

"I know, it's the same, the same as in my dream. And it's got the same water in it, how—"

"_No_," He said, his voice sounding almost pained, "That, that bottle it's…Raven, I _know_ that bottle." He said, looking at her, his violet eyes piercing.

"You…know it?"

"That's…_your_ bottle. It's…Raven you…_made_ it…" He said.

Raven's mouth dropped.

"S-so what's going on? Raven made the bottle, but…what, she doesn't remember?" Asked Shila, who sounded as though she was desperate to comprehend what was going on. Raven started, suddenly remembering that there were other people in the room. "How, and why are you acting so, what_ is_ it?"

"Look," Malorek turned to them all, "This isn't something we can explain very well, so unless you want to be more confused and given no answers because it would take far too long to explain everything, you'd better leave now." He said. They all stared at each other. Bruce nodded, and with one look at Raven, was the first to make his way to the door. Seemingly to agree that this was a conversation best held between the two of them.

Raven groped for the wall, found it, and slumped against it, feeling almost feint. "But then…that means…the white cloak, this bottle…that, our friend…was it, _Avelona_?" She asked.

"But you just said—"

"OUT!" Malorek roared, coming over to Raven's side. They all jumped, but still didn't look very keen to leave.

"Come on." Bruce snapped from the doorway. "Let's leave them to work this out. They know more than we do and standing there asking questions will only waste time, and time is of the essence." He said to the four. They chanced a concerned look back at Raven, but Shila followed Bruce, and the rest followed her.

"She could have gone through time, couldn't she? She could have, had visions of this, and, what if she took precautions to prevent it? Precautions that…failed?" Raven asked, breathlessly. "But then…I saw her, it can't…if she was there, then why did this happen? Why is the future like this if she was there? Surely she…but….if she knew this would happen, why didn't she kill Judora in the past? Why…"

"_Raven calm down_!" Malorek exclaimed. "Listen, it might not have been Avelona at all, in fact, I'm most certain it wasn't. She always had an aversion to messing with time, she only ever went through time an hour at _most_, just to prove she could do it. And, like you said, if she knew enough that she would go that far in time to prevent this, she'd have killed Judora off in her own time. It _could have been_ someone entirely different. Perhaps another friend from the past, who Avelona gave that bottle to before she was killed. Someone from that underground society." He said.

"…Allira'shinede?" Raven asked.

"Ali-what?" Malorek blinked.

"Avelona's mother, her name was Allira'shinede. Avelona might have given her the bottle as a present." Raven said, her eyes widened, "What if, what if the white cloak, wasn't a white cloak at all, what if it was white _hair_!" She asked. "But then, why wouldn't she have confronted me? And, I mean, surely Chire'ni would have mentioned her, even if it was during some sort of rant. So why—?"

"Well, that's kind of obvious, Raven." Malorek answered. Raven spun and stared at him, "Think about it, her own flesh and blood killed you, she'd probably be ashamed. And besides of which, you aren't Avelona, you're Raven. You are your own person, and therefore very different from the little girl she raised. Also, you have a real mother now. She might not want to intrude on this. As for Chire'ni, well, it would make sense for Alira'shinede to have disowned her and not wanted anything more to do with her. She might not even know Chire'ni's still alive, and vice versa." He said.

"But, the white cloth I found beneath the bottle," Raven murmured, pulling the scrap in question out of her belt.

"Could be something symbolic between she and Avelona. Perhaps it represented Avelona in a way, she always wore white so, maybe it was a silent message. Maybe she was telling you it was her, but in that way, you wouldn't have known because you don't have all of Avelona's memories." He said.

"And all the demons that were killed? How could she have,"

"Remember what Chire'ni is capable of, where do you think she got it from? It's possible that Alira'shinede is far more powerful than Chire'ni, and knows a lot more drow magic too." He answered.

"But…Judora would have been able to kill her then, because she'd be weak from using so much power." Raven said, biting her lip.

"…There's still the question of why Judora sent us, well, you, here." Malorek told her.

"You think…what if…" Raven considered, "What if I was…a demon _before_ I was sent back, what if I killed everyone when I came back, what if I killed you _here_?" She asked in a whisper. "What if _this time's_ Judora is suppose to somehow make me, make me like that?" She asked.

Malorek's eyes widened at this prospect, "Well then, we have to make sure you don't go anywhere near her, don't we?" He said.

"So I guess that plan is off, isn't it?"

"Definitely, and you should probably stay _here_ as well. I'll find the three guys, they'll recognize me." He told her.

Raven looked up at him, "Malorek I'm not going to sit back and—"

"_Oh yes you will_." He interrupted, "I'm fairly certain _you_ don't want to end up that way, best to stay here."

"You think I'll be safe from her _here_? Malorek, this Judora is probably more powerful, more crafty, and more experienced than the other one. She _will_ be able to find a way of getting me from here to there if I appear to be staying here." She said.

"Yes but it'll be a lot harder for her, and it will buy us some time too. We could put a protection spell around our room, the same one you had around the Tower, remember? She couldn't do anything to us while we were in there." He said.

"Even so, I'm not going to just sit quiet and do nothing!" She told him.

"Yes you _will_! I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger like that. I would much rather you stayed here and let me do all this!" he said.

"Oh, and what if _I_ didn't want _you_ to put yourself in danger _either_!" She demanded shrilly.

"_What_?"

"Have you forgotten one little itty bitty _fact_? SHE WANTS TO USE YOU TO RESURRECT TRIGON!" She yelled.

"Oh, right, I _seriously_ doubt she'll be able to—"

"She was able to take on your separate halves at the same time." Raven pointed out, which caused Malorek to flush angrily.

"That was because she was prepared for us!" He yelled. "She wove a sleeping spell into us while she teleported us so we couldn't have fought against it!"

"And she'll be prepared for you next time! She could do the exact same thing, only differently to accommodate for your own power raise. She'll _know_ you're whole and will be planning on that!" She exclaimed.

"I DON'T CARE!" He roared. "I don't care what happens to me, _you_ are far more important and—"

"Oh right, and I'm going to be _so_ much better off if you die and I have to contend with my dear _father_! That could be what drives me up the wall, didja think of _that_!" Droplets of salty water were seeping from her eyes now, but she brushed them away, furious with herself. "I might be more important in your eyes, but you are more important in _mine_! I'd rather die than lose you…again." Her voice cracked with a suppressed sob, and she tried to brush the tears flowing from her eyes out of her face again.

"Raven…" Malorek whispered, and the next moment Raven found him holding her tightly, "I'm sorry, it's just, I'm scared, okay? I'm scared. I feel like we're still groping in the dark for some things, and I can't stand it! If this is the future…" he held her tighter, "If everything ends…I can't stand the thought of that. The thought that, this might not change. I wanted to believe that, in fifty years, you and I might finally have the peace we've longed for. Instead, we come here and find that, that tainted woman is still around, and she's f333ed up _this_ life as well! It isn't fair! What did we do to deserve all this!" He demanded.

"Nothing, _nothing_." She said, tears coming from her eyes freely now.

They stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other, but then Raven straightened herself up, whipped her eyes, and put on a determined face, "We just have to try harder to make sure this _doesn't_ happen." She said, her voice steady now.

Malorek looked at her, and nodded.

When they came out of the room, or rather when they opened the door, an avalanche of teens might have fell on them, if the two hadn't moved out of the way in time. Malorek glared menacingly at them, but Raven just raised an eyebrow, schooling her face to seem annoyed rather than amused. "I hope you realize that we're not going to be answering any questions your eavesdropping might have sprouted." She told them.

"Uuuuuuh." They looked up at her guiltily, "We were just," Shila said as they picked themselves up.

"Well…we only started listening when you two started shouting." Mace muttered.

"You're not helping yourself." Malorek growled.

Seeing them all, especially Grissom, shrink away, looking like a bunch of kids caught making out by their mothers, seemed to force Raven's spirits to rise and she couldn't keep the grin off her face. She put her hand over her mouth to try and hid it, but then she started snickering and that just blew the entire thing.

XD

"I still wish you wouldn't co—"

"And I still wish you'd just let it go." Raven interrupted, just as the airlock closed behind them, and the shuttle Bruce had managed to get them flew out of the moon's gravitational field, and headed to earth. Raven's hand flew over what had been the incomprehensible form of a key board, before, of course, she had been given a donation of blood from Terri, who knew so much about flying and shuttles, just that string of his memories nearly overloaded her mind. She was able to weed through it swiftly enough to that she could pilot a shuttle, and that was really all they needed right now. Troubleshooting engine problems, depicting basic strings of computer code, and programming the ship to say 'WASUUUUUUUP!' every time it was engaged past a certain speed wasn't exactly necessary at the present moment. Though she _would_ have to ask Terri _why_ he felt the need to learn that last bit later, however she was quite sure she didn't want to know.

"Alright, alright. So where are we going?" He asked.

"The last place they were spotted." Raven answered. "We'll go from there."

"Which _is_?" Asked Malorek.

"Well, looks like Scotland." She answered.

"_Where_?" Asked Shila, poking her head up between them.

Raven pulled up a general map of the earth, and pointed. "There." She said.

"…Where's that?" Asked Mace.

"Right, I guess you wouldn't have been given Geogrophy lessons. Okay Cross Hope is right about here," She pointed to a spot on North America, "This map encompasses the entire world, so you get an idea of how far it is. I imagine they came over there to put the Atlantic Ocean between them and Judora…um, that's this strip of ocean right here." She explained. "However, they probably aren't there now. But I've made out the patterns of their last few appearances." She pressed a few buttons, and red dots appeared on the map. "A while ago they seemed to sort of hang around in Great Britton, that's this entire continent, but the last few times they were moving up and down the west coast of Africa, that's this continent here. So I think we can narrow our search down to this line." She explained.

"What about those dots over here and here?" Shila asked, pointing to other spots of Europe and Asia.

"I'm aware of this, however, most of the sightings have them around here, and if they went back to Great Britton, it's likely they'll stay there, moving about for a while. It's possible they won't, but for now this is our best guess." Raven answered.

"Britton? Hm…" Malorek looked to be in thought.

"What?" She asked.

"Just thinking, that's where I was born, er, where I hatched anyway. That's also where…well…you know." He said.

"_Hatched_? What do you mean, _hatched_!" Mace demanded.

"What, you mean after all this you still think I'm human?" Malorek asked, raising an eyebrow at the man behind him.

"Entering earth's atmosphere, we'll be nearing Scotland shortly I think. These things fly pretty fast." Raven remarked.

"Of course they do, have to be able to out-fly a guard, don't they?" Mace said.

"True."

XD

The landing was smooth and easy, fifty years of frantically upgrading technology in order to live made sure of that, and the good part was they didn't seem to have been spotted by anyone, so they wouldn't have crowds of people groping to get to the moon upon seeing the shuttle. Still, Raven felt it would be a good idea to leave two people there, just in case. Grissom and Blade seemed the best choices, and the rest of them took to the air.

A day's searching granted them signs of destruction which some of the marshes had grown over in time, glimpses of what had once been civilization, and signs of human's trekking across the moor, but nothing else. No intelligent life, human or otherwise. They had even spread out to search, but when they regrouped near the ship, each account was the same, so they went back into the ship and slept in three separate rooms.

Raven didn't sleep well, and her nightmares consisted of a demon with her face, blood dripping from her fangs and claws, blood that wasn't hers. In each changing scene, the demon was either ripping up bodies and sinking its teeth into their hearts for the blood, or else causing destruction, humans running in all directions as it shrieked inhumanly. However, she noticed that in most of the dreams, she was an on-looker of sorts, she was _not_ the demon, and this afforded her little comfort.

However it did not stop her from screaming into her pillow in the middle of the night. She and Malorek, of course, ended up sharing one of the barely comfortable beds for the rest of the night, which seemed to help, but only in that she didn't feel the need to scream the next time she jerked awake.

Morning was a rather unfavorable affair, Shila and Mace couldn't be roused _at all_, which wasn't surprising since they had never flown before, and had spent the last day doing nothing but. So Raven flew the ship into another area of Scotland their friends had been seen a while back, and landed. They had to wake the two up long enough to tell them that they were watching the ship this time, and then Raven, Malorek, Grissom, and Blade took to the air above the trees. However, before they had the change to get very far once split up, Grissom shouted for them to come over, and they found the unmistakable signs of recent human life.

A few acres on, and the makings of a definite city came into view, with _people_ in it.

The four landed where they wouldn't be seen.

"What do you think?" Asked Malorek.

"We should try it. Just to see if anyone has seen them recently." Raven answered, pulling a hood over her head. She then looked at Malorek, "Um, I think you should try to keep out of sight."

"Good idea." Malorek then looked over at Grissom, "I hope you can improve your social skills a bit, a slight tone of voice and a single word could be the difference between trust and suspicion."

He frowned, but didn't say anything.

In all honesty, Raven half expected people to turn and start whispering as they approached, but upon closer inspection, Raven found that none of them looked out of place. Clothing styles ranged from rags held in place with string, to metal armor, and even white cloaks. In fact, there were many with white cloaks and garments, though most looked more dirty and a little less white than hers, no one seemed to care enough to notice. Even the hair was in all different colors here, unlike at Cross Hope where anything but dark hair and dark skin could get you killed, dyed hair seemed to be the only thing these people were able to do about fashion and style. Some hair cuts looked absolutely horrible as well, one girl had shoulder length hair on half her head, and a buzz cut on the other half. The only thing that seemed to be putting Raven out of place, was her hood, which she pulled down as soon as the amount of colors became apparent.

There were no actual houses, more like buildings that people stayed in, and most carried around something to sleep on with them, so that they could use them whenever they were tired, and just sort of found a building that not many people were using and spread themselves out. The surprising thing was, though some boys were running around with little more than loin cloths on, the place seemed surprisingly sanitary. The reason for this became apparent as, deeper into the makeshift city, obvious signs of technology were coming to them. Pluming, especially, as one woman was watering some flowers with a hose. Also, when Raven glimpsed into some of the larger constructions, she saw artificial light had been put on, as well as fans. The cleanliness was also discovered when they passed by several bathhouses (each with its own specific gender, not surprising there were more woman bath houses than men), and these seemed to be places that everyone could just walk in and use.

Finally, upon coming to one of the largest buildings, they actually found a sort of bar and restaurant kind of place, where people were not only eating food and drinking what probably wasn't only water, but they were bringing in food and going to the back to help out. Obvious 'customers' just up and walked over to the back once they'd finished eating.

"Hungry, lass?" Questioned the man at the bar, who had a sink and was washing plates and cups right there as he spoke.

"No thank you." Raven answered, feeling awkward. He smiled.

"New here ey? Well, don' you worry abou' a thing, you'll start to fit in well enough. Over yonder you can get yer'selves a pallet to sleep on, and if you start a work'n right away, yall'll be befrend'n this little town before ya knows it. Me name's Griff, everyone calls me that. So, you want a drink or anything else? I'll be happy to help if ya need it." He asked her.

Raven smiled at him, he was a burly man, with a lot of beard and muscles, wearing some leather pants and a shaft over his chest, held there by a rather nice leather belt. He didn't seem like someone who was very clean, but with soap suds all over his hands, how could he not be? "Actually, ah, we're not here to stay. We're looking for some friends." She told him, starting to feel a bit nervous.

"Aaaah, well, I always work the kitchens, so I see everyone aroun'. This is the only place you can get cooked food, other build'ns might sell bread, but the rest'll be fruits and vegetables. So, what are their names, and what do they look like? If they were here, I'd know." He told her helpfully.

Raven smiled again, "Um, well, Shade, Michael, and Daniel. One's got red ha—" But she didn't need to go any further. Griff stopped drying the plate he had in his hand and gave her such a piercing look, her smile faded, to be replaced with a questioning look. She saw a swift movement out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it. "What?" She asked.

"You say they're yer friends, do you?" He asked, smiling again, though it was obvious he was forcing it on his face. He didn't resume his drying.

"Yes, what's wrong?" She asked, though she had a good idea what the answer was.

Suddenly, Raven felt both her arms being grabbed, and a haughty, yet very familiar voice in her ear, "I was wondering when she'd start recruiting human mystics to track us down."

"Yep, too bad this one seems a little dense." Said a voice in her other ear.

"You know, I really didn't think our encounter would go this way." Raven muttered.

"Bet you didn't." Said Daniel, and he forced her to turn around and face them.

"No, for one, I thought you'd just be staring at me in disbelief, much like you're doing now." Raven answered, shrugging their hands off of her as their grip was pathetically slack now.

They hadn't changed, in looks anyway. Each of them were just as young as they had been the last she saw them, which, to her, was just the other day. However, some differences were notable. For instance, Danial's hair had been dyed so that the ends were more yellow to make it look like fire, but that was the only physical difference on any of them. The rest, was the air of maturity, the traces of deadness in their eyes, and the sense of those who'd seen a lot, and were forcing themselves to keep light hearts about it.

At first she had been afraid they might not recognize her, but all doubts vanished the moment they saw her face and met her eyes. "R-Raven!" They all gasped, waking from their stupor at the same time.

XP

A/N: And we're back with the age-old cliffhangers. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Anyway, not too many things to say for reviewers, but here we are:

Silver Dragonness: I have thought about it, and, as I told a certain someone I just had an AIM conversation not too long ago, I do have a certain…_material_ in store for the end of Spellfire that _could_ turn into another story, but at the same time it _could_ just be disposed of, it just depends on how the ending turns out. But I have something really…_intense_ (I hope) planned, so I hope you guys aren't too disappointed, however it goes!

Me: That'll be explained, probably in the next chapter. So don't worry!

That's about it. Also, you peoples need to check out this Malchior/Raven/Rorek forum by Zoicytes-Shadow called Romanticide! There aren't too many peoples up there, and how is one suppose to talk about pointless stuffs when there's only 3 to 5 people to respond? HOW I ASK YOU? Also, Zoicytes-Shadow has this one fanfic called The Malchior Files and they are _fuuuuunney_! I am seriously _busting a gut_ over here, you must read!


	32. Paradox

A/N: DUDE! I updated within 3 days! I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF! Of course, this _is_ the weekend, and tomorrow promises to be rather busy and therefore giving me absolutely no time to get any writing done, ;.; Oh well, at least this chapter's out. Yay!

XP

"It's complicated," She told them, "Come with me and I'll explain everything."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Michael exclaimed, shaking his head to clear cobwebs, "How the heck are we suppose to know this isn't a trick of some sort!" He demanded, now regaining the hardness of his voice.

"She really is a friend of yours?" Asked Griff in surprise.

"Looks like one friend, yes, but there's no way she could be, seeing as she's suppose to be dead." Daniel replied, putting his hands on his hips and leering at Raven, as if determined to detect a forgery.

Raven took a deep breath and sighed, "I can't admit I didn't expect there to be difficulties. Alright, ask me a question, one that only the real Raven would know." She said. They looked at each other, and considered.

"What is Arachnia's real name?" Shade asked.

Raven looked at him in slight surprise, "Chire'ni, but how do you know—?"

"What about her mother?" Daniel put in swiftly.

"Allira'shinade, but—"

"Final question: what is the bond between Raven and Chire'ni?" Asked Michael. Griff was staring at them, stunned to silence.

"Sa'velduild, Sisters by Oath." Came Raven's reply from out of nowhere. The three looked at each other, stunned. "But _how do you know Chire'ni_!" Raven demanded, almost tearing her hair out. And then a possibility occurred to her. "She's…she's alive, she's here, she's…She is, isn't she?" She asked, her eyes wide with hope. Duel feelings were welling up inside of her. In one, Chire'ni was _there_, she would have seen what happened, they could talk to her and she would know, _she would know what happened_. The other way, she was alive. Chire'ni, her sister…was alive.

"Let's go, we'll answer your questions if you answer ours." Daniel told her, ushering her out of the building. Grissom and Blade followed swiftly behind.

"We're with her." Grissom said when given a questioning glance.

XD

"No, I am _not_ the Demon Raven reverted to human, far from it, the person you see right now is the exact same Raven you met 50 years ago. Judora transported me and Malorek through time to this point, why, I'm not sure, but it's happened. So basically I am currently in two places at once." Raven explained when they reached the edge of the town and no one else could hear them.

"Malorek? Don't you mean Malchior?" Asked Shade.

"No, Malorek Rechior, as a whole." Malorek answered, emerging from behind a tree into view.

The trio stopped and stared, then they looked at Raven, pointing at Malorek, "_Huh_?" They all said at the same time.

Raven resisted snickering and said, "Let's get back to the ship, the others will be wondering about us." She told them.

"What others?" Asked Daniel.

"Two others, friends." Raven answered.

"It's lucky we found them so swiftly, I really didn't expect you to." Malorek said, they nodded, and everyone took to the air, save Michael who was lifted expertly by Shade alone, both seeming to be use to this by now, and they followed Raven and Malorek back to the ship.

XD

Shila stared avidly at the three when they reentered the ship, "You…you found them, actually found them…wow." She suddenly ran up to them and shook Daniel's hand with a force that seemed to surprise him, "M-My name's Shila, nice to meet you Mr…Daniel? Yeah, you have the fire hair so you have to be Daniel. And you're Shade, right? So that means you're Michael!"

"Hey guys, look, we have a fan!" Daniel exclaimed as though this news surprised him, but he was grinning.

"Duuuuuuuuude." Was all Mace could say, and he shook his head, staring at Raven with wordless amazement, as though she had to be some mythical creature of utter _luck_ or something.

"_Now_, can you explain to us about why tall, dark, and scary is suddenly tall, silvery, and _sociable_?" Michael demanded. Malorek paused, and then snorted in a fit of laughter.

"I, suppose we never explained all of that to them, did we?" He asked.

"Didn't we? You never saw Rorek, did you?" She asked them.

"Rorek?" The three looked at each other, but suddenly Shade pirked up.

"Oh, yes! Rorek was the white-haired one, wasn't he?" Everyone looked at him, "Malchior and Rorek are two halves of the same dragon, right? So naturally, Malorek Rechior must be the whole. A gray dragon, the most powerful of them all, correct?" He asked.

"Well, there _are_ the deities, but they prefer to no longer exist on the planes of reality, apparently. Probably by order of the First God and all. Not that that's important." Malorek added.

"YOU'RE A DRAGON?" Shila and Mace both shrieked at the same time.

"What did you think I was, a spray!" Malorek demanded indignantly, though Raven saw hints of a smile around his eyes.

"No, I, er, thought you were an elf with his ears trimmed to look human." She answered guiltily. "But, how come you _look_ human and all!" She asked.

"High dragons can shift their shapes to any form they please, usually, though they take on, er, similar characteristics to their original form. Such as, how they look to another dragon, would be how they looked to another horse, or cat, or, yes, human. In other words, I can't just take on any appearance I want without directly using illusions." He explained.

"Rrrrright," Shila said, looking rather nervous.

Mace, however, was ecstatic. "Really? How come you haven't transformed before now? I'll bet you could rip Judora apart that way!" He exclaimed.

"Actually no, that wouldn't be a good idea, it'd be that much more body mass for her to aim something foul at. Besides, dragons aren't suppose to exist anymore, not on earth anyway." Malorek answered.

"How did you know about Malorek, though?" Raven asked Shade.

"Yeah, what's that about?" Daniel demanded.

"Well, I simply remember Shenira mentioning some of it to us, the two of you probably don't remember because it was an offhand comment and currently you were staring at this one girl's—"

"_Alright_, we get it!" Daniel exclaimed, slapping a hand over Shade's mouth, but Shade's eyes twinkled with amusement.

Malorek's eyes suddenly narrowed, "Shenira?" He questioned slowly, looking at Raven, "As in, Chire'ni? The drow child?" He asked, his voice low and menacing. Everyone looked at him.

"You're talking about Arachnia, right?" Asked Shila suddenly, "What…what's wrong? Isn't Arachnia…?" She asked, looking specifically at Malorek. Daniel, Shade, and Michael were all staring at him as well.

"Ah, it's a bit complicated. You weren't there so…well, she came to our side, actually." Raven told him. "Listen, let's get all this straightened out, she's alive, right?" She asked the three, who nodded.

"She's been cultivating underground civilizations all over the world, protected from the Demon and the Sorceress as they're nearly impossible to find! She's probably one of the biggest reasons a lot of us are still alive!" Shila answered, giving Malorek an accusing look.

"She could know what happened, she was fighting alongside us against Judora, and _don't_ give me that look! Listen, after I fought Shijuko, the higher demon, I was suddenly attacked by that Death Wraith that Judora summoned using young Vincent Gray! I would have died, or worse, had she not appeared at that time to save me! The ceremonial dagger she uses was once the weapon of choice used to kill the Death Wraiths, it was only because of that that I am standing here now. _That's_ why I chose to forgive her! According to Shila she's also been trying to atone for her past sins with these civilizations. She's grown and she's realized her mistakes!" Raven defended, huffing slightly. The room was silent, no one dared speak, nor to ask a question. They were practically ignored.

"You, are entirely too forgiving when it comes to that woman." Malorek said, pointing a finger at Raven, "You cannot tell me you're forgiveness came solely because she saved your life and admitted her mistakes. You cannot tell me there is no lingering emotion tied to this, you cannot tell me that you don't still feel for her the way Avelona did. _She does not deserve a second chance, Raven_. Rorek should have let you kill her back then when she almost murdered Zacroma." He told her.

Raven bristled and stared him straight in the eye, "I'm not going to argue with you, because you're right. I can't say that my forgiveness came completely out of her redeeming herself, I can't say that I don't still feel a sisterly bond with her, because it's something that Avelona wanted more than anything else in her life, and that isn't going to go away so easily. But you're wrong on two accounts, everyone deserves a second chance, and Rorek was right to tell me that I would have regretted killing her then. I _would_ have killed her if Zacroma had died, but she didn't. Besides that, her sins were against _me_, not you, the two of you had never even met before if I understand this correctly, and therefore _you_ have no right to pass judgment." She said.

"If it wasn't for her…" Malorek growled.

"If it wasn't for her then what? So she wouldn't have killed Avelona, therefore she wouldn't have sent Avelona to the demon realm. Avelona would probably have decided to kill herself or live in the underground civilization for forever. If that were the case, then I wouldn't have been reborn, would I? Eventually she'd get tired of living, eventually she'd decide it wasn't worth it. This isn't Chire'ni's fault. It's _Judora's_ fault. If it hadn't been for Judora, Avelona would not have given up and allowed Chire'ni to kill her. Alright?" Raven explained, staring up at him defiantly, her voice nearly growling as well.

Malorek seemed a bit taken aback, and he sighed in grudging defeat, "Very well, for your sake…but if she slips up once more, just _once_…"

"She won't." Raven refuted.

"But if she does."

"Alright, deal." Raven said, and then she turned to their audience, "Don't ask, just _don't_. Chire'ni and my pasts have been…turbulent. Let's leave it at that." She then turned to the three guys they'd been looking for, "Alright, if you know enough about Chire'ni to know all the things you asked me, you must be in contact with her, right?" She asked.

Daniel nodded, "That's right. In fact we were headed in her direction when you found us. I can show you where she is on your ship's map." He told her.

"How's that?" Raven asked, moving over to the consol in order to bring up a map of the British Isles.

"She invented these small gems that we all swallowed so that we would be able to slightly communicate and contact each other, also know where the other is at all times just in case. It's here, roughly anyway." He said, pointing to a spot a few dozen miles from their current location. Raven marked this with a blue dot and engaged the engine.

"_No_ I am _not_ going to explain to you who Avelona is or how she and Raven are the same person." Malorek told Shila as she opened her mouth. She shut it again and turned away, shrugging to the other three.

XD

Raven felt her heart pump madly in her chest and she tried to calm it down, but, like so many times before, this emotion did not seem to belong entirely to her, but to Avelona. Yet she couldn't keep Chire'ni out of her head, couldn't help but anticipate seeing her again, to hear her call her 'Velduil' once more. She wasn't too sure about these emotions, to be honest, perhaps Malorek was right and she _was_ being too forgiving, but she couldn't help but feel she could trust Chire'ni. This one, at the very least, had worked to save the humans who had once oppressed her and her people. She had to have grown up quite a bit during the last 50 years, though it was doubtful whether this would show on her face and body.

They all landed in a place that, at first, there appeared to be nothing more than empty plane, almost a desert area, though it was obvious it had not originally been this way. Debris and stray pieces of unrecognizable objects that no one had bothered to clean up littered the area, though sparsely, as though there had, at least, been _some_ cleaning up done. "Is this it?" Shila asked, sounding doubtful.

"Yep." Answered Daniel, he put his foot on a rock, a gesture that seemed completely pointless at first, but then the rock sank into the ground. He stood back, and then that very area of land opened like a trap door.

"Classic." Raven muttered.

"What's classic?" Shila asked, looking as though the idea were a stroke of brilliance. Raven sweatdropped, and forcefully reminded herself that the only schooling these kids probably had was in the school of hard knocks, kicked into such a high gear that things like 'classics' were viewed as ridiculous and unimportant learning material. When the world is on the break of destruction anything that doesn't aid in outright survival just seems pointless.

"How'd you know which rock to step on?" Asked Grissom.

"The ground was a touch harder in that section, usually indicating the use of metal, and the single rock in the middle of it sort of made the switch obvious." Daniel answered with a shrug.

"You probably also have a good idea of Chire'ni's style as well." Raven added, leading the way down the stairs. The trap door closed again when they were all inside, courtesy of something Shade had obviously done, and the tunnel suddenly became dark.

"Okay, can't see!" Exclaimed Shila, who then did something about the problem by summoning a sphere of raw electricity in her hand to illuminate the area, and it did so very well.

"_Niiiiiice_." Michael whistled, turning to Raven, "How come none of _us_ got an awesome power like that?" He demanded.

"I don't choose what power you obtain, _you_ do. Sub-consciously, yes, but you still choose." Raven answered, continuing down the path. Shila flushed a bit at the praise and did her best to keep the place illuminated for all of them, though neither Raven nor Malorek needed it.

Then they came to the end of the staircase and Shila no longer had to illuminate their way. Once their destination opened up to them, Raven stopped so abruptly that Malorek almost ran into her, she rubbed her eyes, and looked again. _What…?_ The cave was _huge_, expansive with rock formations that had already been there, and places where it was obvious there had been some digging and chipping away. Water dripped in places, pouring in others, and there was a river to the side. Above them all was a huge globe that threw everything into sharp relief, and allowed Raven a better look at the _other_ things that were going on.

People were bustling everywhere, some were shouting, other's chatting as they worked, some were bringing food in from somewhere, others were fixing it, and even more were working on actual structures. But the one structure that caught Raven's attention was the one at the far back. It looked like a castle made from the very rock itself, and built into the rock so that its actual size was quite a bit more than it appeared. _That_ had been finished, it was the small houses (which, if you thought about it, were a bit unneeded), that were being built. But there was something, something _familiar_ about that castle, so familiar, it was giving her a headache.

The three guys slipped past Raven and Malorek and began to make the decent, gesturing the rest to follow. Dumbly, Raven did, still gawking at the castle. Daniel let out a large shout, "WASSUUUUUUP!" Which was, apparently, a password as just about every head shot in their direction, some people even dropped what they were carrying, and a bold few started to cheer, leading the rest to do so as well. Raven and the others merely followed them through the crowds, she barely noticed the odd looks she and Malorek were getting, deciding it was only natural. She'd stopped staring at the castle, and instead was looking frantically ahead for any sign of white hair, black skin, or a body clad in any sort of spider design.

But the three seemed to know where they were going as she didn't have long to wait. Soon they had found themselves in what looked to be a sort of 'town square', where tables had been set up, most of which were lined with gadgets and people working on them, and a few with a lot of paper that looked to be structure plans. It was at one of the 'blueprint' tables where a familiar lithe form, wearing the black, white-webbed armor she had seen not so long ago, was standing. She had dropped her human form, but her black skin and white hair had, apparently, long since been accepted, even respected.

"Chire'ni?" Raven breathed, slipping forward in front of the others.

Chire'ni froze in mid-sentence, she'd been talking with a couple of men who looked to be her subordinates, but had stopped, and turned around, her blue, green-rimed eyes wide. And when she saw Raven, her jaw dropped. "Is it…possible?" She breathed, looking at Raven as though she couldn't believe her eyes. She took a cautious step forward.

"Shenira?" One of the builders questioned. She ignored him.

"Are you Raven returned, or an apparition?" Chire'ni asked.

"Nether." Raven answered, stepping forward.

"You don't look a day older than when I last saw you! How can this be?" She asked, but she was smiling, holding out her arms to embrace Raven. Raven felt a bit awkward at this, but was warmed all the same. Still, it was kind of embarrassing, especially among all these on-lookers.

"Because I'm _not_ a day older. I have a lot of explaining to do, but the fact of the matter is that I have _not_ reverted, or returned, but am in two places at the same time." Raven said. She felt oddly calm, peaceful, as if the longing had just been sedated by merely being _near_ her adopted sister.

There was confusion in Chire'ni's eyes, and Raven could tell all she wanted to do was spill over and start gibbering, as was only natural in this kind of situation, but she suppressed it. "Very well, come, we can talk in the castle." She said, gesturing them all to follow her.

They passed a few people, carrying things, who didn't ask questions, and merely greeted Chire'ni politely before rushing off to their work. Halls and doors went past, each of which more familiar than the last. Raven could hardly keep her eyes away from all of it, it wasn't the halls themselves that were familiar, it was the architecture, the style, and it was driving her nearly insane, but at the same time she felt an unexplainable sense of belonging here. A sense that, she knew, belonged to Avelona.

"Chire'ni…" Raven began hesitantly, "This place, it…it's familiar. Why is that?"

Chire'ni turned and smiled, "This is drow architecture, Velduil. I'm glad you find it familiar, I was afraid I may have forgotten the old styles, here." She lead them into a room that was currently unoccupied, according to the bed and personal feel of it, this was probably Chire'ni's room. "Sit." She gestured to the large circular couches. There were many, obviously she was use to having a lot of company. Everyone did so, and Chire'ni took the seat on the left side of Raven (Malorek, of course, having the right). "Tell me what has been going on, no interruptions, just speak." She said, and Raven nodded.

Raven took a deep breath, and explained the situation as best she could, trying not to leave out any details that could help, including their observations and a lot of things that were way above the heads of the rest of their company. Chire'ni seemed to understand the whole time-paradox much more easily than most of the others, so it didn't take too long. "And now, what we really need, are details of what exactly happened so that, well, we _might_ be able to change all of this. We have a way to do it, and I think we have…a friend that's trying to help as well." She finished.

Chire'ni closed her eyes in thought, digesting all of what Raven had just told her. "This friend," She said finally, "Do you have suspicions as to who it could be? A passed ally that, perhaps, felt it best not to be seen in case Judora discovered them?" She asked.

Raven bit her lip, "We…don't know…I have a theory but…Chire'ni, I have to ask…is there any chance that Allira'shinade might still be alive? Have been alive 50 years ago?" Raven asked.

Chire'ni stared at her, eyes sharp and piercing, but becoming stony themselves. "I…do not know." She turned away. "Velduil, you must understand, my mother had every right to kill me for what I'd done, it is our way, not, necessarily, the way of the drow, but it was _our_ way. Instead I was banished to the overworld where I used the magic she had taught me to appear human. I knew human custom enough that I was able to survive that way. I don't know what may or may not have happened to her, since that day I haven't seen her, nor have I heard of her. It is unlikely, but not impossible, that she would still be alive." She answered.

Silence followed this pronouncement, Raven felt rather guilty for asking, but that couldn't be helped. "There's a chance…it may have been Allira'shinade who helped us. I'm not sure."

"What makes you say this?" Asked Chire'ni, rather shocked.

"Remember back then, when you and I had just defeated the Death Wraith, and we were going to a circular room where we met up with the others?" Raven asked. Chire'ni nodded slowly. "Remember what Robin, Zacroma, and Beast Boy said about nearly dying but being saved and all they saw was something white? I'd been dreaming of white, cloth I use to think, but then we came into this one area with hundreds of demons and they were all dead. There was this bottle lying in the middle of the floor partially filled with kethnic water that illuminated the entire room and a white cloth beside it. Malorek says that the bottle belonged to Avelona, so what if she had given that bottle to—why are you looking at me like that?" Raven asked, suddenly seeing the expression on Chire'ni's face.

"Raven…I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, "Robin, Zacroma, and Beast Boy…they died, Raven. It was only Cyborg, Starfire, and her sister, Blackfire, that we met in that room. The rest were brought in, dead, by their enemies, whom you killed in a blind rage. The room full of demons didn't consist of _dead_ demons, Raven, and there was no such bottle with light waters." She told her.

Raven and Malorek stared at her, transfixed. "_What_?" They both exclaimed, eyes wide.

"I remember helping you, yes," Chire'ni told Raven, "But afterward, I used my most powerful spell to clear the way for you and the remainder of your friends. You transported me back to your Tower, where I met these three," She gestured to Daniel, Shade, and Michael, "I don't know what conspired afterwards, but next thing we knew, you were as you are now, a demon, and you began to rampage, completely out of control. We tried to stop you, the four of us, but we were no match for you. Even at the height of my strength I could not bring you down. No one else survived. I don't know the details of what happened and I never saw Judora in person, but I have a hunch that _something_ sent you off the edge, beyond what the Tainted One had planned. So far as we know, this Trigon was never resurrected, which is a good thing, obviously, at least we know Judora's plan was still somewhat of a failure." She explained.

Raven and Malorek looked at each other for a moment, both wordless with confusion. "But…but the white _something_, the friend, how could she have been there from _our_ memory and not yours? You were there, this doesn't make any sense!" Raven exclaimed, hitting her head. "You _were_ there when we faced Judora…this isn't…_how_ can we have different memories? Are you absolutely _certain_—"

"I am certain of what happened, Raven." Chire'ni answered firmly, "And your memories…they are far more recent, how could you have different memories from me?" She asked.

Raven shook her head, "Unless…Maybe I…" She stopped and her breath seemed to catch, "What if I told myself they survived so that—"

"Raven, that isn't right, you know that. I saw them, before I went after you, I saw them all there. Granted, I didn't see many, only glimpses, but I _know_ Robin was there, and Chire'ni as well. Also, the bottle, Raven, you _have_ the bottle." Malorek told her.

Raven paused, "That's right," She then brought the bottle from the jewel on her belt and showed it to Chire'ni. "This, this was on the floor, and next to it was this." She held out the white cloth.

Chire'ni took the bottle in her hands, "Raven this…this wasn't there. I never saw this. You claim it was surrounded by dead demons? That's not possible." She said, shaking her head.

"_How_, then? How! We have proof of…our…memories…" Raven stopped, her eyes suddenly widened with a dawning possibility.

"What is it?" Chire'ni questioned. But Raven turned to Malorek.

"Tarra said she saw something white after the snake that controlled her was killed, just before she was about to kill Beast Boy. Robin said he saw something white right after Slade was defeated, just before Slade was about to kill _him_,Zacroma said that she saw something white before she…_changed_, and then something touched her back and she was normal again…Malorek, we swore we would change this, that somehow we'd find a way…what if, what if we already _have_?" Raven asked.

Malorek stared at her, "_What_?" He asked in amazement.

"Listen, the white cloak I saw before falling, the white that Terra, Robin, and Zacroma saw…what if that was _my_ cloak? What if, all this time, our friend has been _me_, _us_! Zacroma…this water would have forced her to change, and remember what she said about being able to nullify my unchecked power through close contact, what if the reverse is true as well? What if _I_ touched her back? What if _we_ destroyed the demons before the others got there, what if I put this very bottle and cloth in the middle of the wreckage for my other self? _What if it's actually my own white cloak that I've been seeing in my dreams_!" Raven exclaimed suddenly standing up.

"Raven that…that would be…Gods…" Malorek breathed, "But then, if we already prevented this future, then how come it has happened?" He asked.

"An effect of the paradox, no doubt." Raven began to pace, "We use Zacroma's blood to go back farther in time to change the past, a little after we all get separated and captured, that would create a sort of hole, or passage, allowing us to do what we have to. When we go back in time to prevent this from happening, _this particular_ future will never have happened, but another future just like this will take place for the two of use who are sent through the time portal, beginning this exact same cycle. Meaning that once _we_, ourselves, go back to the time in which you and I were sent here, the cycle will simply end as thought it never existed. Because, even with Zacroma's blood, time will struggle against us to put everything back in order. It's already happened, in a sense. All of this has already happened to the ones who helped us, the _us_ who helped us. In a sense, we're living their lives right now, I am saying exactly what the other me must have said. Everything has been pre-lived, and however it plays out for us was however it played out for the other us!" She exclaimed.

"But, Raven, how would this cycle have changed? How could we have done anything to deviate?" Malorek asked.

"It would be an effect of Judora's sending me through time and back. Each cycle something would have had to be different, because the paradox would make it so. Especially if, and this is just a theory, Judora _could_ have made contact with her past/present self! Why else would Judora send me to the future if not so her own future, and more experienced, self could perform the rituals she previously could not in order to change me and send me back? Theoretically of course, but if Judora sent me to the future just to get me out of the way, her future self would have known to try and keep me from being sent until _after_ the ritual to resurrect Trigon was complete…but then, at the same time, it's unlikely that he could be resurrected, even using Malorek, if _I_ wasn't in the same time. This must have been the case, I mean, why not send me to another world if all she wanted was to get rid of my friends, who, obviously, were very few at this point? That has to be it. But then each time would be different, because each contact Judora made with her past or future self may have been different, and each plan _slightly_ altered. Eventually I may have remembered Zacroma's blood on my own, because obviously _you_ weren't suppose to have come into this time with me," She gestured to Malorek, "And I may have used it to protect myself from whatever ritual she used to revert me, and then forced it to send me back to a time when I could have changed things. Also, that bottle was Avelona's right? And Avelona must have had a sub-space pocket. Well, the entire premise behind a sub-space pocket is that it's tied to your soul, so one time I may have actually been able to summon that bottle and known, somehow, to fill it with the kethnic water on the T-Tower! But now that it's all been set in motion, now that everything seemed to have been set up for us, time will correct itself. Once we go back through the cycle once more, it will have to. We'll want to be careful, make sure we do everything just right, but it _will_ work, it has to, because it's already worked." She answered.

"Um…could you explain all of that in a way that us ignorant humans would be able to understand?" Shila asked in a small voice.

Raven shook her head, "There's really no way of explaining it so that it's simple. Time is something very few magic-users dare to mess with, it has very firm laws and severely punishes those who try to break them without taking certain precautions. The alterations up until now will, undoubtedly, have been from Judora trying different ways of achieving her goal, correcting her mistakes, of course. It is most likely that this Judora _may_ try something different from the Judora that our future selves, who are now in the past, had to deal with, but it's just as likely that she won't in order to satisfy the paradox. It's also possible that the _times_ that Judora sends me have changed to being later and later in order to give herself _more_ time to prepare for it. Zacroma's blood would, likely, have worked, and will work, _with_ time in order to give us the exact same situations and ordeals that the ones who helped us did."

"But what makes you so sure that it's _this time_ that the paradox will be satisfied?" Malorek questioned.

"I remember Judora's face when she saw all of us there in front of her. She had obviously neither expected us there that early, nor had she expected _all_ of us to be there. At first I thought it was simply she was shocked her plan had failed, but what if it was what her _future_ self told her that changed and caused her shock? It all fits together! It all makes sense! Granted, we still don't know _how_ we're going to get to that point, but if we don't, well, there'll be hell to pay, that much I can tell you." She explained.

"So…no pressure then, huh?" Daniel said.

XP

A/N: Confused? I'LL BET YOU ARE, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Actually it's rather straightforward if you understand the theory, it's just _explaining_ all of that was a challenge. Heheheheheheh, I hope I didn't disappoint you guys .

AttackingHentaiChibisLoveFluff: 1) !.! Um…yes ma'am/sir? OxO 2) Why thank you! 3) I'm updating, I'm updating! 4) Well you kinda read the chapter when it just came out, I got more reviews! Thankies though! 5) Really? AWESOME! Thank you!

Trickster's-Lulaby: Look! Look! _Three_ times in one month! WEEEEE!

Delirium24: YES! Because cliffhangers are my specialty and I need to keep up my cliffhanger reputation somehow! (would this count as a cliffhanger? I dunno, it doesn't leave you wanting to strangle me for stopping there does it?)

Trenin: Aw, but I likes de reviews, de're my friiiiiiiiiiends, my preciousssssssss (Evil demonic eyes) Ah, _ahem_, anyway! Just tell me what you liked in particular about the chapter if you're stuck for things to review on. I like hearing about what sticks out to people :D

Evilsangel: THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH, I LIKE KNOWING THAT MY WORKS ARE APPRICIATED AND HERE'S MY UPDATE IT CAME OUT FASTER THAN I EXPECTED IT TO SO WHEEEEEEEEE!

Well, that's about all I have to say, except for this: HAIL THE ALMIGHTY AWESOMENESS OF THE SPORK! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	33. Returning Encounters

A/N: ALL YOUR DRAGONS ARE BELONG TO US! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

XP

**Little Raven has a secret, doesn't she? Doesn't want anyone to know, doesn't even want to remember it. She's kept it locked away all these years, kept it inside, deluded herself into thinking she'd forgot, told herself it didn't happen, got rid of it. But really, memories can never be truly forgotten, even in rebirth. Blood is not the only thing that records memories and thoughts, no, no. You've known, all along you've known, and tried to tell yourself you forgot, that it wasn't true, that it didn't happen, won't happen. It was all something you dreamed, yes, a dream, a nightmare, placed there by your own creative fears as a child.**

**Blood, isn't everything, blood cannot do everything. Blood, cannot be passed through soul reincarnation unless a part of the actual body is used. Isn't that lucky, though? Considering, what you were as Avelona.**

**Still trying to hold on to the delusion that you don't know? Even in the past, you avoided that truth, you dodged and skirted around it, refusing to let your mind even take a step in that direction, when all the while you knew, and you know now, don't you? Come on, that's it, let that memory surface, let it writhe and torment you, let the realization hit you, remember who you are, remember _what_ you are, and remember what purpose you were to fulfill.**

Raven sat up straight in bed, sweating with the effort to keep herself from screaming. Her bedsheets, which were tangled around her as obvious signs she'd been tossing and turning, were clutched tightly in her hands, they had holes in them from her nails. Raven stuffed a hand in her mouth and bit down hard on it, willing herself not to scream, turning it into silent sobs. Her hand began to bleed.

She slipped out of her bed and went to the mirror, staring at herself. She couldn't help but feel…chained. Like there was something heavy weighing her down, so heavy…like a lock of some sort, something that was preventing her from being able to tap into Avelona's memories, but the more she tried to find the key, the farther away it drew itself, almost as though she herself were levitating it away from her hand. Raven stared at her reflection, she almost expected to see actual chains there around her form, wrapped around her arms, her legs, with shackles on her neck, wrists, and ankles. She shook her head.

"What is it?" She whispered, touching the mirror. What was it that she didn't want to remember? What was Avelona's secret? Was it her guilt at destroying all those people who attacked her home that one time? Was it true, true that Avelona was still thirsty for blood? ….Was it true that she _was_, in fact, the one who murdered Val'hilran? Perhaps…maybe, Avelona _was_ half demon. But surely she should have realized that Malorek wouldn't care…but then, the other part of her nightmare, that sounded like Rorek and Malchior when Judora was controlling them, and so the purpose was to ruin her. But it didn't make sense that a demon, even a half-demon, would be possessed by other demons! A half-demon would be immune, unless they were very _special_ demons. But then these would have to be demons crafted specifically for the person themselves, and what would be the point of that? Avelona was only a child when she was possessed after all, what could she have done to deserve that sort of torture? Was it something her parents did perhaps? That would explain it…but still, there was something off about all of this, something that was eluding Raven's mind, and yet dangling in front of her, just beyond her reach, taunting her with whispered hints that she couldn't understand.

"The most beautiful woman in the cosmos stares back at herself from the surface of a mirror," Said a low, soothing voice as strong arms took Raven's wrists and held them around her own form, "But, I wonder, what is she expecting to find there?" He asked, pressing his cheek to hers and staring in the mirror with her. Then, his face sober, he asked, "What's wrong, Raven?" And he held her tightly, protectively, and Raven felt herself sink deep into his arms. She sighed and melted against him, he nuzzled her neck in affection.

"I…had another nightmare." She told him.

"What about?" He asked.

Raven paused a moment, her eyes distant, "Malorek? Do you…do you remember that time, when you were both Malchior and Rorek, the last time you saw Avelona? That time when Judora's control over your mind finally drove her into the underground?"

Malorek stiffened slightly, "As though it has been burned into my mind forever." He answered softly. "I remember what was said, the expression on her face, the tears in your eyes. But why? Is that what…your dream was about?" He asked

"You remember I told you Judora sent the Death Wraith after me, a Death Wraith forces their victim to relive their worst experiences and/or fears. It's a bit complicated, not as straightforward as the Dementors in Harry Potter, but, if someone had a deadly secret they forced themselves to forget, that's something the Death Wraith will work to bring to the surface. The event I experienced was that time, that particular time, and there were words said before then…it had something to do with a secret Avelona had, a secret she was keeping, even from herself. Ignoring certain…hints I suppose, and determined that something _didn't_ happen, or _wouldn't_ happen. Can you…can you remember _what_ this secret is?" Raven asked.

Malorek's reflection scrunched up his face, trying to remember, "Something was said, this was what sent her over the edge, this secret. But I don't know what it could possibly be that she thought I would truly desert her if I knew. I'm sure that nothing she, nor you, can tell me would, or will, make any difference whatsoever to me." He said.

"Yes, well, we never said Avelona was emotionally stable." Raven sighed. Malorek chuckled in spite of himself.

"Still, this isn't something you should be worrying about now, we have bigger things to get stressed out over." Malorek told her, bringing her around and them, before she could react, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. Raven let out a small woop of surprise, but then brought an arm up around his bear neck and sighed into his chest.

"Yes, you're right. But…something bothers me." She said.

"What's that?" Malorek asked, pausing on his way to her bed.

"Judora…she knows, she knows this secret. And what if this _isn't_ something we can just ignore till later? What if this also had a big significance to everything? Obviously Avelona felt enough shame about it she would believe that you would desert her because of it." She said.

Malorek sighed and laid her back down on her bed, then got in next to her. He waved his hand and the covers straightened out and fell over them softly. "Don't worry about it." He told her, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers, "Whatever it is, no one is going to think less of you for it, least of all me. I promise." He kissed the jewel on her forehead, and then her lips.

"Thank you." Raven breathed, melting into his arms once more, breathing in his scent as her face pressed comfortably up against his chest, his neck and chin hooked around the top of her head. He waited until she fell asleep again before allowing himself rest as well.

XD

"…Ah, shall I leave you two alone for a little while longer?" Both Malorek and Raven's heads jerked towards the door where Chire'ni was standing, trying not to look too amused. She'd just caught them in the middle of a very long and heated kiss, and Malorek with no shirt on either!

Raven's face went scarlet and, for some odd reason, couldn't help but feel the need to beg Chire'ni not to tell their mother. Malorek on the other hand, said, "Yes, if you would, that would be nice." And he recaptured Raven's lips in his own and attempted to continue, with Chire'ni letting out a bought of uncontrollable laughter as she went ahead and closed the door.

"Mmmm." Malorek wined when Raven pulled away and slipped out from under him in order to get the rest of her clothing on. "But, but, it was just getting good!" He complained so dejectedly that Raven snickered in spit of herself.

Face still red, she shook her head, "Don't want to make Chire'ni wait too long. She'll only laugh harder." She added in an undertone.

"I don't care." He said, slipping his hands back around her waist, making it difficult to strap her belt there. He pushed her hair away using his nose in order to find her ear and began to nibble.

Shivers went up her spine and she seriously considered continuing their make-out session, but caught herself and rolled her eyes at him, "Well _I_ do." She said, shooing him away from her ear with her hand.

"You weren't saying that last night." He chuckled, earning himself a hard slap.

"Alright, _Malchior_, get your clothes on and let's go find the others." She ordered.

"Ouch! Well, yes, I guess I deserved that." He said, rubbing his cheek and teleporting back to his room.

The two found the rest of their group congregated in Daniel, Shade, and Michael's bedroom, which appeared to have been prepared for them already, only Mace and Shila weren't there.

"Wild horses couldn't get those two up." Chire'ni grumbled.

"Would you like me to try?" Malorek asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Uuuuuuh," But before Chire'ni could say either way, he was gone. There was silence for a few moments, and then Malorek reappeared, holding the two of them by their clothing. Shila wearing a full set of plane blue pajamas, and Mace…a set of boxers with teddy bears on them. Mace was, incidentally, held up by his waist and it looked as though he were very close to falling out of them, Malorek not helping matters very much by jiggling him a bit, an evil glint in his eye.

"MALCHIOR PUT HIM DOWN!" Raven yelled, an action which seemed to have been enough to wake Mace up, he looked up at them, looked down, and suddenly screamed. Malorek let him fall, laughing.

"Mmmm? Who screamed?" Shila asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and looking around. She gave Malorek a rather tipsy smile, "Hey handsome, how's it going?" She asked groggily.

Malorek stared at her for a moment, held her as far away from him as he could, and then let her fall with a loud _Thud_! "Are you awake yet?" He asked pleasantly.

"YES!" Shila yelled, scrambling up from her awkward position, "Me and my very soar butt thank you for that!" She told him irritably, and then her eyes fell on Mace, and she began to laugh, pointing at him as he tried desperately to find something to cover himself with. Shila, of course, being fully clothed obviously found this hilarious.

Indeed, practically everyone else in the room was laughing, Raven trying very hard to keep herself from doing so, but it was difficult.

"Alright, if, if you two will…go and get dressed, we can start…planning our next course of action." Raven said, biting her lip.

"This isn't funny man!" Mace exclaimed, settling on one of the guys' blankets to wrap around himself. "I'll get you for this!" He declared, shaking a fist at Malorek, who simply smirked.

"I look forward to laughing at your pathetic attempt." He responded smoothly.

Mace grumbled something incoherent and left, with Shila still laughing behind him, to get his clothes on.

5 minutes later everyone was sitting (some standing) in the trio's bedroom, and Raven took a deep breath, as it was obvious everyone was waiting for her word. "I don't think there is going to be an easy, sure-fire way of doing this, what Judora lacks in raw power she makes up for in cunning and skill. She will know we are going to attack before we do, she will have realized our plan from the beginning, and she will use it to her advantage. Way back before all of this we only beat her simply because we had more force than she had anticipated, _each time_ we only won because of something she hadn't anticipated, a simple mistake she made. Our past Judora has failed because she did not anticipate our future selves having the ability to go back and change things. But this does not mean we can relax in the knowledge that we will win. This does not mean that we _will_ win. We have to _make_ this happen, and we have to have something that Judora is _not_ expecting. Also, we don't have any real _proof_ that this time's Judora doesn't already know _Malorek_ is here. Our little stunt with preventing all those demons from killing Batman may have alerted her to a force she wasn't anticipating, so we can't rely on Malorek very much. I think I know _exactly_ where her hideout is, coincidentally, so should Chire'ni." The drow nodded grimly.

"I've just not been fool enough to try staging attack and making myself known overly much." Chire'ni explained.

"Which is good, but we can't expect Judora to _not_ know about Chire'ni either. Neither can we think she won't expect me to have given you four special powers." Raven said.

"Alright, you've blown down every single one of our _possible_ advantages, _now_ what?" Shila asked rather irritably.

"Well, what she will _not_ have expected, is that we, ourselves, have already helped us, if you get what I mean. The first clue that my future self left for me would be this bottle." She then brought out the bottle, "This water is obviously the sun-saturated water from the T-Tower, or The Cross. Water that we will undoubtedly _use_ as there is, right now, so little of it. Some of it, I already know what it would be used for, but the rest I don't know. Also this piece of cloth," Raven took out the cloth, "This symbolizes that my dreams with the white cloak meant myself, the person who was helping us. And there's something else," Raven looked at Malorek, "As this bottle was Avelona's, and since it was in Avelona's sub-space pocket, one of our past selves _must_ have been able to access this in order to begin the cycle for our favor. Somehow, I think, I need to figure out how to access Avelona's sub-space pocket, and that will mean more of her memories."

"Okay, we can't keep it in anymore, _who is Avelona_!" Shila demanded, pulling on her hair in aggravation.

"She was the most powerful and brilliant mystic of all time, she alone fought against hundreds of demons, learned and mastered all forms of magic, is the only being who has ever been able to master the use of Blood itself. She is known by many names, but mostly by her accomplishments in the field of both magic and science. She tamed the great Chimara on Mt. Everest, stilled the touch of the Grimmore in the river Styx, healed thousands of sick, destroyed plagues of disease, mended broken bones and restored lost parts of the body, she was the one who defeated the Messiah of Lucifer and sent him back to his own realm when he first arose, she is the White Magus, and she is also Raven, my sister." Chire'ni answered, surprising them all, especially Raven.

"So…ah…what do we do now? Bow down and worship you?" Mace asked in stunned amazement.

"You could do that, yes." Malorek answered. Raven sweatdropped.

"_No_. I am only Avelona reincarnated, and I have yet to regain very many of her memories. The ones involving her spells in particular seem to be eluding me." She answered. "All I'm able to do is manipulate Blood, and only as Dark Raven can I do that." She said.

"Wait a moment, I thought you said that gray dragons are the most powerful dragons next to the deities." Mace said, looking at Malorek, "Why can't you just go in and start blasting everything to bits?" He asked.

"Because that is _exactly_ what Judora wants. Nothing would please her more than to have me barrel in there blindly and attempt to simply destroy everything in sight." Malorek answered. "Let me re-explain the situation, Judora wants to use _me_, _my power_, in order to resurrect Trigon. If I start to exert an overlarge amount of power she will have me in a circle before you can blink and the next thing I know I'll probably be shackled to an alter with iron specially made to bind a gray dragon and a sacrificial dagger in my chest sucking all the power and life from me. The more power we exert outside of specially protected areas the easier it is for her to pin-point our location and the more precise and refined she can make her circles. _Especially_ if we're that close to her location. We can only assume that Judora's become more proficient at making circles as well, and so anything we do within 10 miles of her location will have to be low-scale unless we plan on moving out of that area, _fast_." He told them.

"Dang, that sucks." He said, flinching. "So, any plans?"

"Well," Shila begin, but Raven suddenly sat up and stared at Malorek with a wide-eyed expression, as though she just suddenly realized something.

"Malorek, do you remember that one time, when you as Malchior were still trapped in a book, and I wanted to protect my room in the way that I protected the secret closet behind my hangman tapestry?" She asked, Malorek's eyes widened in dawning comprehension and he nodded, "I've been wondering, actually, what it was that kept Judora from being able to teleport anyone in or out of the tower using her circles, since she obviously knew that was our base, and why she couldn't send anything to destroy it, even all those years ago before it became The Cross. The general protections that I, myself, had placed around the T-Tower wouldn't be particularly apt at blocking her circles, but the _jewel_…"

His mouth dropped open, "You made it powerful enough to block circles like that?" he asked.

"That was the intended purpose, but the way it was made, that was just a defect of the magic used. Honestly I wasn't thinking about blocking circles, but circles are tricky things in general so any amount of a _certain type_ of protection would be able to block her ability to use them externally. To use this type of protection _without_ an enchanted object of some sort would require a constant amount of concentration. So if we could get our hands on that jewel, it's probably still inside the tower…"

"We could break it into smaller pieces so that each one of us would have that protection from Judora's circles." Malorek finished. "External circles anyway," He added at Mace's expression, "It would still be useless if I walked right into her fortress and started blowing things up. But _outside_ the fortress we would have a means of protecting ourselves."

"So, obviously, our first coarse of action will be to get inside The Cross." Chire'ni said.

"Well, that settles it, let's go." Daniel said, standing up.

"What, now?" Shila asked, staring at him.

"Yes now, what, do you have a date or something?" He asked. Shila looked insulted and she got on her feet immediately.

"_No_." She answered hotly. "We'll go now!" Her three fellows followed her lead and stood up with her.

"I'll notify my subordinates and meet you at the exit tunnel you came in from." Chire'ni told them, also standing up.

"What, you're coming too?" Malorek asked in slight surprise.

Chire'ni put her hands on her hips, giving him a look that would have made any human man shrink in terror, "Of _course_ I am coming. I want to see this snake destroyed and I'm not going to let you have the pleasure of doing it yourself! I'll have my own vengeance, and woe be to any demon who dares stand in my way."

Mace stared at her, and then at Daniel, "I'm, kinda, scared." He admitted sheepishly.

"So are we. Just be glad she's on _our_ side." Daniel replied under his breath.

XD

Raven was almost surprised to see that the ship was exactly how they left it, hadn't been attacked or stolen or anything. The only things that seemed to have done it any harm were the birds that decided the windshield would make a nice toilet. The got inside of it, and Raven directed its flight path towards Jump City.

They had to land in a deserted area fairly far from the city itself, high above the ground in a place that one couldn't reach without an aircraft. When they got out, Raven was about to ask Chire'ni if she could fly, but the drow had already begun a spell, "**Power of mana, I call thee from the depths of the abyss, flow through my body, change my form, change my shape. _Give me the power of a dragon with wings to fly_.**" She changed, and before their very eyes a set of large, black and violet dragon wings grew from her back, an actual tale snaked out from her tail bone, her muscles seem to grow, her hands became claw-like, she grew small horns around her ears, her teeth became fangs, and her blue pupils became like slits. Everyone but Shade, Michael, and Daniel stared.

"I didn't know you could shapechange!" Raven exclaimed.

The half-dragon Chire'ni smirked, "Of course I can, you think I would limit myself only to becoming human? That was simply a necessity, after all." She answered, her voice seemed to have acquired a bit of a growl.

"So, why did you chose the dragounet, if I may ask?" Questioned Malorek, sounding slightly amused.

"Well, a drider cannot fly, you see." She answered in an off-hand sort of voice, spreading her wings and taking to the air with a single, effortless flap.

"Right," Said Shila, shaking her head, "I'm just not going to ask." She grumbled, jumping into the air herself along with everyone else.

Jump City soon came into view, and it looked even worse than before. Though perhaps that was because Raven was now able to associate it with the city she had seen not long ago. Nothing seemed recognizable, at all, the only landmarks were the river and The Cross, where the park was suppose to be, there was nothing, where a library was suppose to be, several fallen buildings, where theme parks, bridges, ponds, and even the _lake_ was suppose to be, there was nothing but rubble and debris. Very little was still standing, and what _was_ standing was the buildings closest to The Cross, but that was about it.

Raven flew towards the cross as if in a trance, she felt something wet on her cheeks but she ignored it, blinking as her vision got blurry with the salty liquid. She wished, she _wished_, she could blame all of this solely on Judora, and even though she knew it was, in fact, Judora's fault, it had not been she who had directly caused all of this destruction. It had been Raven, all of it, had most likely been Raven's doing. Dark Raven, no, _Demon_ Raven, yes, but it had still been _she_ who had done all of this, and much, much more.

How many more had been killed? The other Titans perhaps? What about the Justice League? Had they tried, and failed, to defeat her? Did friends from outer space try and come to help, only to be brutally slaughtered by her future self? Had she even killed the villains as well? The evil they knew to come from outer space to earth in an attempt to take it over, perhaps they had met with the exact same fate, and perhaps they had joined up with Judora, but it didn't seem to appear that way.

The T-Tower stood, indeed, like a beacon of hope, but for a different reason now. It seemed Judora had begun to summon more demons to guard it, not nearly as many as she'd had last time, but enough to still make a very nice swarm as they spotted the group coming towards them.

"_Necronom, Hesburek, Mortix_!" Raven yelled out fiercely, her eyes burning with white fire. She held very little back, her emotions welling up into tears began to spill out of her body in a wave of pure fury, her cloak flying up into a wing-like shape and, rather than add his power to hers, Malorek seemed inclined to simply stay out of the way.

The demons who were left began to shriek and attempt a cowardly escape, but Raven tore after them, transforming into her black spirit form, she ripped them to bits with a single snap of her beak, a brush of her wings, and the touch of her talons.

"Feel better?" Malorek asked cautiously when she became her normal self again.

Raven let herself smirk, "Yes, actually, I do." She answered.

"Dude, I am _really_ scared." Mace said to Daniel.

"We all are, just be glad she's on _our_ side." Daniel murmured back.

Simply looking at The Cross didn't hurt the eyes as much as it probably should have, due to the dark haze that seemed to blanket the city, but the closer they got the brighter it seemed to shine, until they came right next to it and it was nearly blinding.

"I don't think we can get any closer!" Michael called.

"I can, just wait here, I'll try to be quick about it." Raven called back. She then wove the same sense-dulling spell she'd used on the two dragons' noses once upon her eyes to where she could hardly see anything that _wasn't_ blanketed with the brilliant light of the cross, and flew right into the center of it.

It looked just as it had before any of this had ever happened, the roof anyways, with the cauldron there spilling over with powerful light, and the sign warning people not to touch it or mess with it. First thing was first, Raven pulled out Avelona's bottle and dunked it into the kethnic water, filling it up. She corked it once finished, noticing that the part of her that had to be submersed in the water was now having the light wound around it, as though it were now emitting from her as well. She then fazed the familiar pathway into her room, only to find that everything was…quite normal. She even has to take off the spell on her eyes to see. The electricity was out of course, but the light still coming from her arms threw everything into sharp relief so that she could still see perfectly.

Raven sighed, even the window didn't seem to know anything had transpired the past fifty years, its curtains blocked the light out efficiently enough, and everything else was dustless, nothing had decayed, no insects had come in, nothing. Everything was as it should be. She felt an unexplainable emotion of longing, wishing this were all just a bad dream, willing her arms to stop glowing, for Robin to knock on her door and ask if she could break up Malchior and Rorek's fight, for Starfire to drag her and Zacroma off to the mall for 'Girl Time', for Beast Boy and Cyborg to declare a new game of Stank Ball (Though by now they'd pretty much given that up). She wanted to hear the alarm and have Robin tell them someone like Cinder Block or Mad Mod was causing trouble, not a crazy snake woman performing sacrifice rituals in public areas to summon Death Wraiths and High Demons.

But this was reality, and she couldn't simply wish it away.

Raven went over to her bed and ran her hand underneath it, soon finding the deep violet jewel, the rune etched in black inside of it. It was a bit larger than the length of her hand, and wider than her fingers could encompass, not a particularly big stone of its type, but obviously quite enough to protect the entire Tower from Judora's circles. She put it into the jewel on her belt and fazed back outside. "I got it." She told the others, flying towards the congregated group still in the air.

"So, now what?" Shila asked. "Back to the ship?"

"That would be best." Raven answered, leading the way.

But the group hadn't flown half the length before a piercing, horrible shriek filled the air. Everyone stopped and looked around wildly.

"Oh god, it's _her_!" Mace hissed, suddenly fearful.

"Don't fall apart!" Grissom, who'd been inclined to silence for a while, hissed at him.

"Let's get out of here!" Shila exclaimed, and she was about to make a break for it, when something from the ground broke clean through the side of a fallen building, and a figure rose to meet them in the air.

Huge, black, bat-like wings outstreached from a lithe form, hair as long as the figure was tall flowing about it, framing a sheet white face that bore four sets of glowing red eyes and a set of vicious fangs. The torn remains of a black leotard covered the needed areas of a thin female frame, whose hands and feet were claw-like and demonic in spite of her small appearance. Blood of thousands stained her clothes and skin, matting her hair and soaking her hands, feet, and mouth. Her eyes held only emptiness, devoid of a proper soul, mad with pure rage and hatred, her expression twisted into something horrible, unrecognizable.

For a single moment, there was an unnatural stillness, like the calm before the storm, and then she shot from her position, so fast no one had time to react. Shila let out a scream, but the demon ignored it completely, she flew directly towards a single person, her eyes and her mind completely and utterly focused upon nothing else, and Malorek flew forward to meet her half way.

XP

A/N: Heheheheheheheheheh, aren't I evil? :D Anyway, I'M SO HAPPY, SO MANY PEOPLES ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WHEEEEEEEE! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Pixie10111: Actually, if you think about it, she's lived her life believing she's in the right, that Avelona was evil and all that. She's fairly firm in her religion, even though her goddess is supposedly dead and all she had were her mother's particular teachings, that's still her way. She's also grown quite a bit, if you'll notice the 50 year period between discovering that she was truly in the wrong and the one you see now, it's not that surprising. To me anyways, but of course, she _is_ my character.

Raven002(aka: David): Oh man…that really sucks, I mean, really _really_ sucks…she was so cool, thanks for telling me that, man…

Me: A water nymph, I think, I'm pretty sure. I could be wrong but I know they're some sort of water creature.

Nena-Firewind: Sorry about that, eh, (Guilty look), like I said in a previous A/N, there's no excuse, I've just been lazy, getting distracted with other stuff, and all that junk. Sorry!

Trickster's-Lulaby: Thanks a lot! I (hopefully) have some more planned on for the future, stuff, (I hope) no one will be expecting, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Well, that's about it, thanks for all the lovely reviews, and keep them coming! Ja!


	34. A Promise Fulfilled

A/N: Uh…nothing funny to say…sorry

XP

They fell, Malorek unknowing, unsure of what he was to do, of what _she_ was going to do, was caught in her claws by the impact, and they fell. Her wings wrapped around him in a tight cacoon that blocked out all light and took the impact of the demolished building they hit like it was nothing. Several times they broke through some surface, and when they finally stopped the impact didn't feel much more jarring than the several times they went through.

The demon Raven held him tightly in her clutches, binding him with arms, legs, and wings, a bind he could probably get out of…

If he wanted to.

_God love and rest my soul_

_With this sundown never-ending_

_The feel is gone but you ant gonna see me fail_

She tore off his scarf and bit down on his neck, but rather than continuously drink, she sucked only a little, and then began to lick the wound in a very seductive manner. Her tongue moved from his neck to the edge of his cheekbones, licking him, kissing him. Her lips found his, her tongue pushed into his mouth, tasting him relentlessly, hungrily,

Like an animal.

"Raven." He whispered when her lips left his mouth and she began to kiss a trail down his neck. She didn't respond, her tongue teased his skin and she gave him another bite. "_Raven_, stop, Raven _listen to me_!" He exclaimed, wrestling out of her grip, taking her shoulders into his hands. He shook her, which was hard due to the fact that her wings made substantial amounts of movement difficult. She snarled at him, her red eyes glowing in the darkness, her claws caught his skin through his bodysuit and ripped it.

I am the decadence of your world 

_I am the eider covered in oil_

_Happy hunting, you double-faced carnivore_

"Malorek!" A familiar voice called from somewhere overhead. Demon Raven let out another snarl and shrieked in fury, opening her wings and raising her head towards the voice. But it was just Raven, the other Raven, and her demon self only seemed able to stare. "You…" The other Raven swallowed, "You promised." She said.

Malorek stared at her, his heart seemed to stop, his face paled. He looked from her, to the Demon, whose face was unreadable, but she was staring at him, her eyes piercing. She opened her mouth, **"Promisssssssed,"** she hissed, **"You promissssssed."**

Malorek shook his head, his eyes pleading, turning from the demon to Raven, whose face was set. "No, no…I…I can't….Please…" The demon let out a shriek, picked him up, and threw him into the wall.

"**PROMISSSSSSSSSSSSE!"** She screamed, her face, once again, twisted in rage. **"PROMISSSSSSSE MEEEE! PROMISSSSSSSSE!"** She bellowed, her voice reaching a horrible pitch, terrifying, inhuman.

Tell me why 

_No heart to cry_

_Hang me high_

Malorek stumbled back out of the hole he'd made, his face hidden by his silvery hair, and then he raised his head, his expression hardened with pain. He let out his own cry of fury and sent a bean of blazing golden fire at the Demon Raven, who dodged it by taking to the sky once more, flying through the holes that they had made themselves.

Raven teleported back to the others, whom she had ordered to wait, "Let's move farther away." She told them, her voice hard and her expression unreadable.

No one argued, there was a ledge far from their current location, they all moved there and turned, just in time, to see a dragon emerge from the now completely demolished building.

The music is dead the amen is said 

_The kiss of faith is what I beg_

_A loving heart 'n soul for sale_

Silver scales blazed in the light of The Cross, like living metal, his belly an almost blinding gold with fierce eyes of glowing violet. His roar shook the earth and the fire that emitted from his mouth was violet, the very hottest of fire. The Demon, rather small by comparison, tried to use her size to her advantage, but Malorek was obviously use to fighting opponents smaller and faster than he was, he cut her off at every turn, prevented her claws from finding their way upon his skin, though his arms had already been bleeding, it was very shallow. He moved, twisting and turning with unimaginable grace and speed, like a dancer in the sky, his fire being used only when he was sure it would damage only the demon rather than the city.

Tell me why 

_No heart to cry_

_Hang me high_

But the demon was swift and powerful, her dark projectiles hit his scale armor and blood often flowed from these wounds, but he ignored them and continued on. Still, it soon became apparent that, while the two were fighting, neither of them were putting very much effort into it, as though neither one truly wanted to kill the other.

"MALOREK!" Raven yelled furiously, tears were welling up in her eyes, "MALOREK I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, BUT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS, YOU PROMISED ME, YOU PROMISED _HER_! IT'S BETTER, BETTER TO DIE, SHE WANTS TO DIE, MALOREK, SHE NO LONGER HAS A SOUL, SHE WANTS TO DIE! YOU HAVE TO, YOU CAN'T GO BACK ON YOUR WORD, IT WOULDN'T BE FAIR, NOT TO HER, AND NOT TO ME!"

Leave me be 

_And cease to tell me how to feel_

_To grieve, to shield myself from evil_

_Leave me be_

_Od of lies is killing me_

_Romanticide_

_Till love do me part_

Malorek snatched the Demon Raven out of the air, she struggled and hissed, but his grip was firm, and he began to chant a spell, a powerful one, his entire body began to glow and not just by reflecting the light of the Tower, his eyes blazed violet, and the demon became still, alive, but staring at him.

With a tone of regret in his mighty voice, Malorek finished the spell and opened his hand. The Demon's body was ripped apart from the inside, a fierce darkness filling her veins, tearing them apart, leaving absolutely nothing behind but the remains of her clothing, which fell into Malorek's hand. A small spark flew from his mouth and ignited them, and he let them drop, ashes long before they would hit the ground.

See me ruined by my own creation 

He flew towards them, blood tarnishing his beautiful flesh, he appeared defeated in spite of his victory. He transformed back, a meld of silver and gold becoming armor and hair, and landed on the platform in one fluid motion. He didn't look at anyone, but grabbed his time's Raven and buried his face in her hair. He held her so tightly she felt as though she were going to be crushed, but she wrapped her arms around him. What could she say? That it was okay, that she was still right here, that they would make sure this never happens again? He knew that already, he knew, he knew she was there, right there in his arms, but that didn't erase the fact that he had just been forced to kill her, even if it was a demon, even if the soul had long-since left the body, that did not erase the fact that the blood of his one true love was on his hands.

Leave me be 

_And cease to tell me how to feel_

_To grieve, to shield myself from evil_

_Leave me be_

_Od of lies is killing me_

_Romanticide_

_Till love do me part_

Guilt weighed heavily in her heart for doing this to him, but it couldn't have been helped. He had promised her, and she'd had a very good reason for making him do so. There was nothing that could have been done to prevent this, the Demon would not have rested, would not have relented, she would have kept coming after him until he fulfilled his promise.

He was shaking, and she had to turn her neck around in a rather uncomfortable position in order to speak to the others, "I can teleport us all back to the ship if I have to, someone take my hand and the rest of you make sure you're all touching." She told them.

Shila was the first to come and grasped Raven's hand obediently, the rest followed suite, with Chire'ni, still as a dragounet, holding Daniel's shoulder in her claw-like hand. Raven concentrated, she didn't think she'd ever teleported this many people before, but soon Malorek's magic came in to mingle with her own, and the next thing they new they were in the main room of the ship.

Dead boy's alive but without sense 

_I need a near-death experience_

_Heart once bold, now turned to stone_

_Perfection my messenger from hell_

No one spoke, but Raven said, "We'll want to get into the air, best find a place to hide for a bit while we plan our next course of action."

"I'll do it." Shade said, taking the driver's seat and getting the ship into gear as Raven lead Malorek into their shared room.

Malorek simply stood there while she removed his armor and his shirt in order to get to his wounds. He simply sat on the bed, his eyes seemed dead while she worked with his wounds, able to heal most and close the rest. It was as though he were lost, like something had died within him and his sense of self was completely gone. This helplessness was almost worse to see than anything they had experienced thus far, he didn't look at her, but when she wasn't touching him he reached out to touch her, as though to make sure she were still there, that she hadn't left him.

Wine turns to water 

_Campfires freeze_

_Love letters burn_

_Romance is lost_

_Lord let me be wrong in this pain_

Finally, after removing a particularly nasty cut on his chest, Malorek's hand clasped around her wrists, and he stared straight into her eyes, "Why?" He whispered, his lips barely moving, he stared at her with every appearance of a broken man, something that caused her to hate herself. "Why?" he repeated, "Why…why did you do that to me?" He closed his eyes, a single tear fell from them and he pressed his lips to the inside of her hand, then held it against his cheek.

"I'm sorry." Raven whispered, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, tears welling up in her own eyes, "I'm sorry…I didn't know it would effect you like this…I…but, it couldn't have been avoided, she wouldn't have stopped, not until you killed her. You know that."

"Raven…I don't think you truly understand." He whispered, his arms wrapping themselves tightly around her form, capturing her in a binding embrace. "I meant it, I meant it when I said I'd rather die than kill you. Raven, right now, I wish I were dead, I really do." He told her.

Temporary pain, eternal shame 

_To take part in the Devil's chess game_

_Spit on me, let go, get rid of me_

_And try to survive your stupidity_

"No," She whispered, her voice cracking with her own hardly-suppressed sobs, "Don't, don't say that, it'll be okay, we'll get through this somehow, we'll make it so that none of this needs to happen, we—"

"No, Raven," he said, pulling her back to look her in the eye, his expression stern, and his eyes filled with a torment that broke her heart, "You don't understand, I cannot easily let go of this, and it's likely that it is _never_ going to leave me. I'm not human, I'll say it a hundred times if I have to, I can't just let go of this sort of thing, I can't just go to one of your psychologists and get treated for it all. I can't let go, this wound is not going to heal for a long, long time." And then he pulled her back into his arms, "I love you," He whispered, "Dear gods I love you so much, I'd do anything for you, _anything_, but this…Raven this isn't something I am going to be able to forgive very easily." He told her.

"I…I'm sorry." She said, choking on her own sobs. Guilt like fire coursed through her, making her hold onto him even tighter, "If I'd known…I didn't think…I'm sorry, there's no excuse, I'm sorry."

He rubbed his cheek against her hair, stringing his hand through it with a tenderness and affection that only made her feel worse. "It couldn't have been helped," He whispered, "I did promise, but that doesn't make it any better, and I won't do it again, Raven. I swear I won't, I can't. Next time you will be the one to kill me."

"Then let's make sure there _isn't_ a next time. Let's destroy this nightmare and make things right." She whispered.

Leave me be 

_And cease to tell me how to feel_

_To grieve, to shield myself from evil_

_Leave me be_

_Od of lies is killing me_

_Romanticide_

Till love do me part 

XD

**You can't keep running away, Raven, you can't continue like this, whatever you tell yourself. There are things that run too deeply to get rid of, the spells you cast to rid yourself of your darkness, the cleansing, the purification, the continuous study of the mind and magic, you want to destroy yourself, you try to make yourself human, but nothing works. So you simply forget, forget what you are, forget everything, ignorance is bliss after all. You cannot hide from your true self, you cannot escape what you are, you can run all you like, but this will never leave. You must accept it.**

**There is no need to run, there is no need to be afraid, come into my arms, let me embrace you with my burning chains, and let the fire reveal your true form.**

It was like a thousand nails been jammed into his flesh, his blood ran with fire and ice as every inch of his mind awoke and began to work at top speed. Fear so great he felt it in his very bones, shaking, vibrating with every instant that horrifying scream took place. It sounded like a hundred souls being tortured at once, a scream of true terror, a scream of something worse than death, emitting from the very bowels of hell itself, rising to grab his heart so that it ran a thousand miles an hour. He struggled to grasp what was going on, but all he could think of was the scream, the terror and concern that gripped his heart, and it was a moment before he realized that Raven was still in his arms.

"Raven!" He gasped, shaking her, willing her to come out of that nightmare, wanting to grab her and drag her out, back in her body. He began to panic, he slapped her, shook her, yelled her name, but she kept screaming.

"What's going on?" Chire'ni yelled, running into the room with others behind her.

"Stay back!" Malorek yelled at her, "Get out of the room and stay back!" He ordered sharply over the screaming. They all backed away swiftly.

Suddenly Raven stopped screaming, she sat straight up, her eyes bulging wide, her expression blank with terror, for a moment it looked as though she wasn't breathing, and then she suddenly gasped, taking in huge gulps of air. She began to choke and splutter, grabbing at the collar of her leotard and practically tearing it away, as though she were choking on it. She grabbed at her throat, her nails making red marks in it and he had to stop her from harming herself.

"Raven, listen to me," He said in a voice that was as calm and consoling as he could make it, in spite of the fact that he was shaking almost more violently than she was. "Calm down, you have to calm down, take deep, slow breaths and let them out." He instructed. "Lay down, just calm down."

"I…"

"Don't speak," He pushed her back down on the bed. "Just breathe." He said, taking her hands away from her neck and stroking it gently with his own, taking away the marks her nails had made. It seemed to help, she was breathing more slowly, calming down. She swallowed.

"I don't think that was one of my usual nightmares." She whispered, bringing a hand to her head.

"It's okay, just take it slow and tell me what you saw." Malorek said, wiping sweat from her brow.

Raven pulled herself up and leaned over, using her arm to prop her face up from her knee, "It wasn't…so much what I saw, I'm not sure I saw much of anything…chains, and a woman, probably Judora." She took a deep breath and let it out, "She's trying to get to me," She said flatly, "She's invading my dreams, I don't know _why_ what she said caused me to react that way…but I almost…" She shuddered. "She's trying to weaken me."

"Then we can't wait any longer." Malorek turned to the group gathered outside Raven's room, "Everyone get ready, we'll meet in the control room." He told them. They all nodded, wordlessly, and left.

XD

"These are the plans I was able to draw from what we remember previously about Judora's hideout. There may be a few changes, but this is all we have. When we infiltrated her hideout she had a store of enemies for all of us to fight against, most of them enemies from our pasts, and she put us in these rooms by separating us all using her circles. Now, after we get that jewel broken into parts for each of us, this isn't going to be an easy task for her, but that doesn't make things any easier. It's going to be difficult, because we are going to need to use her own circle to teleport Malorek and me back to the past." Raven explained.

"Divide and conquer is Judora's favorite strategy, she likes to get Raven on her own, to gloat usually, but at the same time Raven's too powerful for her to defeat in a one-on-one match, at least she _was_, there's a good chance Judora may be more powerful now, so the one thing we have to focus on is making sure Raven doesn't stand alone." Malorek told them all.

"She knows she can't defeat me surrounded by friends, so she will do everything in her power to separate us all. Simple solution: We can't let that happen." Raven said.

Shila raised an eyebrow at this, "'Surrounded by friends', how does that work? How is it harder for her to defeat you with people with you, when she can summon a bunch of demons to take care of us and focus on you, than one-on-one?" She asked.

"'I cannot hope to defeat you as you are, surrounded by friends, and we cannot hope to kill your friends as they are now, with you close by. But separate you from them, and I win.' That's what she said to me before she sent me through the portal. The other Titans had, previously, been infused with an extra amount of power and protection by me, much the same way that I gave the seven of you power, but using a very different method. Still, a part of me was in them, and them in me, together our powers were greater because of that connection" Raven told them.

"It's because they were all an asset to your power." Malorek explained, "Remember? You were the one who gave them the protection using Zacroma's blood, a part of you had become a part of them. It's like what I said about these three," He jerked his head towards Shade, Daniel, and Michael, "Only to a smaller degree. But now you have a total of 7 friends, all of whom have your own blood coursing through their veins and so, if we do this right, they will be able to act like extremely advanced forms of familiars, more powerful in your presence as you are more powerful in theirs. So, we need a way of staying together, or at least a way of knowing where each other is, especially you, Raven. Judora will want to get you alone most of all." He said.

Raven nodded and turned to Chire'ni, "The guys told me that you made these gems that allowed you all the ability to pinpoint the others' location, once we break the jewel, could you weave the same spell around their individual parts?" She asked.

Chire'ni bit her lip and considered a moment, "Yyyes, I believe I could, it'll be tricky, but I can do it." She answered.

"What it sounds like we need," Began Daniel, "Is a way to enter without being seen. You think there's a possibility of that?" He asked.

Malorek pursed his lips in thought, "Typical invisibility would be useless, Judora doesn't need eyes to know where we are most of the time, especially if we're walking around her domain. And with the jewels, well, they'd offer us a shield from view, yes, but at the same time Judora would know exactly where we were due to the fact that she would see our shields themselves, or rather she would see the holes that these jewels would create in her ability to sense the entire fortress." He said.

"What if we tried to make ourselves look like demons, would that work at all?" Shade asked.

"No, we'd have to make our individual energies look like demon energies, and that would involve something far too close to _Tainting_ to be safe. And I don't really think it would be possible with Malorek and Chire'ni." Raven answered. "Aside from that, I don't have the materials that would be needed." She told them.

"Wait a moment, you said you've been in her hideout before, right?" Mace asked Raven, who nodded.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I'm not sure how your Teleportation thing works, but it makes sense to me that you at least have to have a firm idea of where you're going to get there, so what if you simply teleported us into Judora's hideout, maybe into her 'Throne Room' or something, _that_ would be unexpected, she wouldn't have had time to prepare _anything_ unless she knew, in advance, that we would be appearing _right there_ at _that time_." He reasoned.

Everyone _stared_ at him, Raven and Malorek looked at each other, stunned. "You know, I believe that is almost _stupid_ enough to work!" Malorek said.

"Normally doing something like that would be utterly foolish, but for that reason…She simply won't be expecting it! How can she? She 'knows' we're too smart to just teleport right in the middle of a supposed 'trap', so if we did just that, we'll definitely have the element of surprise on our side." Raven reasoned. "The only problem will be the barriers she's undoubtedly placed all over the area, but with…You Know What, that wouldn't matter in the _least_." She said.

Shila suddenly rounded on Mace, "Since when did you become the genius?" She demanded, half indignant, half in awe, the other two of her group let out impressed murmurs, but were, as usual, still silent. Mace just shrugged, but that didn't erase the smugness of his air.

"Alright, as soon as we get the jewel ready, we attack." Raven told them.

"What, so soon?" Mace asked, surprised.

"The sooner the better. We have already sat for too long, Judora is likely waiting for us to make our move, and if we don't move first, then she will." Chire'ni answered.

XD

It was best to teleport from exactly where they were, Judora would have no inkling as to when they'd attack that way and therefore would have even _less_ time to prepare for them. Shards of their protective jewel hung around every neck, with the largest piece staying in the ship to keep it safe, just in case.

"Everyone ready?" Raven asked, taking Malorek and Shila's hands.

"As ready as we'll ever be, let's do this." Daniel said, taking hold of Shila's other hand with the rest following him.

They made a circle, each hand joined, and Raven closed her eyes to focus, "I'm going to go right into the room Judora transported us from, be prepared to fight as soon as we get there." She told them all.

Everyone nodded, and she counted down, "Three, Two, One." The next moment they were in that exact same area, but there was nothing there.

Instinctively, everyone turned around, backs to each other, and got into fighting stances, but the room was bear, not even the alter stood in it, there was no carpet, but there were blood stains that looked many years old. Shila summoned light for the others to be able to see, and for a moment they waited, but there was no cry of alarm, no indication that there was anything there or near them. The place felt dead.

"What? I felt sure there'd at least be _something_ here." Raven murmured.

"Can you sense anything?" Malorek asked, pulling down his scarf to sniff the air, "I smell demons, but it's feint, old, they're here, I know that much." He said, pulling the scarf back up.

"I think I remember another large room, or set of rooms, not sure, if we go down from here we can reach it from the room below." Raven told them.

"Right, so lets all join hands once more." Michael said. "This time there's a good chance we'll be surrounded."

They did so, and Raven focused on phasing them all through the floor at once, this was tricky, she hadn't done _this_ before. But she managed it.

Michael was only half right, they _weren't_ surrounded, exactly, but two humanoid demons were sitting across from each other on a table, apparently playing some form of card game. One of them was laughing at the other's bad luck, "I win again!" He exclaimed, neither noticed the huge group that suddenly appeared until Malorek made a coughing sound. They turned, and chocked.

"What tha—" The winner exclaimed.

"Hi." Shila greeted pleasantly.

"We were in the neighborhood and were wondering if you happen to know where a particularly psychotic snake woman might be staying at this time?" Daniel asked, cracking his knuckles.

Both demons swore profusely and scrambled into battle positions, but Raven had already acted, the shadows that played across the floor suddenly rose to grab them, it wasn't a very tight grip, but before they could do anything Daniel moved in, sending a fireball their way, joined by a lightning bolt courtesy of Shila. Then once that was done, Mace decided to try his skill out, and he trapped the still-dazed demons in icy prisons, leaving only their heads exposed. "Right, now that that's settled, where's Judora?" Raven demanded, stepping up to them.

"Traitor!" One of them snarled, his eyes glowing red, "Filthy half-blood wretch! How dare you aid these pathetic humans and their allies! You think we can't tell, do you? We can smell your blood! ROT IN HELL!" He yelled at her.

Raven twitched, "Alright, we'll try it this way." She muttered, summoning up Malorek's dagger and slicing her wrist open. She banished it just as the wound healed itself, her skin becoming paper white. It was getting easier and easier to transform. She turned to the two demons, both were staring at her with wide-eyed realization and fear, **"I repeat myself, where is the Tainted One?"** She asked coolly, approaching the one who had yelled at her with a dangerous air.

"L-Lady! Y-you, you…what, but…why, Lady, why?" He gasped.

"**Why? Simple reason: I hate you. Don't make me repeat myself again."** Raven hissed.

"But…but it wasn't…" He stammered, and Raven's hand came around his neck, her nails dangerously close to cutting him open.

"**_Trust me_, you do _not_ want me to draw blood."** She hissed. **"Start talking, and fast, my patience grows thin."**

He swallowed, "She said, she said you wouldn't…wouldn't come…"

"**Wouldn't come? Why?"**

"She said you'd wait until after she, she defeated you. I don't know, she just said to expect you here when she defeated you for the last time, but that wasn't to be for another three days! She said—"

"**Three days? And when did you hear these orders?"** Raven questioned.

"Only…only a few hours, ago." He answered, sweating. "We—we were suppose to, suppose to guard…" But he closed his mouth, "I don't know where _she_ is, honest I don't know!"

Raven leered, **"What were you suppose to guard? Answer me, the quicker the better, or I _will_ draw blood."** She told him.

He swallowed, "The sacrifice! We were suppose to guard the sacrifice with a bunch of others! But she hasn't summoned them yet, you weren't suppose to come for three days!"

"**So she doesn't know, good."** Raven murmured, **"Where is this sacrifice?"** she demanded.

The demon jerked his head to the door that went towards the big room.

"What do we do with these two?" Asked Chire'ni.

"Destroy them, we can't risk them getting lose to warn Judora we're here." Malorek said.

"I'll do it then, my power signal will be less familiar to Judora, less chance of being discovered." Chire'ni told them, summoning up her sacred dagger.

"No! We, we told you everything you wanted to know! We won't say a word, promise!" The other demon cried, finally speaking.

"Psh, yeah, right, like you would have shown _us_ that kind of mercy." Shila snarled, sending a bolt of lightening towards the both of them, they let out cries of pain, and then Chire'ni broke their prisons with a Mana Arrow so it would be easier for her to drive her dagger into their flesh. The two of them screamed shrilly when the blade entered, dark blood issued from them, being sucked up by the blade where it was destroyed. They began to convulse on the floor, their bodies rotting away in front of their eyes until there was nothing but ash left, and even that was absorbed by Chire'ni's dagger.

The group simply watched this with contempt, and, wordlessly, moved to the door. Raven kicked it open, and they began to run down a flight of stairs.

"Raven," Malorek said suddenly, "There's something that's been bothering me."

"**What is it?"** Raven asked.

"Judora, and I know that's bothering all of us, but this is something different. Doesn't it seem to you as though she has a great amount of authority among the demons, even the Higher Demons? Is that normal for a Tainted? From what you told me, they're typically humans who've absorbed demons into their bodies, shouldn't the Higher Demons be in charge? I mean, even those demons who are high enough a class to be humanoid, they do the bidding of a simple Tainted." He answered.

"That does seem odd." Chire'ni commented.

"What, you mean Judora was once human?" Demanded Shila, almost shrilly.

"A Tainted is a human who, through countless acts of horrific ritual, has successfully summoned a demon to enter their body and fuse with them, not just any demon though, one of Trigon's children. Generally, these Tainted are given the highest of ranking by the Church of Blood, but…Malorek's right, this does seem off." Raven commented. "Higher demons are usually those who give the Tainted orders, not the other way around. Perhaps Judora's a special case somehow. It could be that she has earned a place of honor, but what could she have done to do that?"

"Indirectly get rid of the great White Magus?" Malorek suggested.

"I don't know, there's something missing, what could she have done? Perhaps, as we've suspected before, an extremely _heavy_ tainting."

"We can consider this later." Chire'ni said, as they all approached a barred door at the end of the stairs. Raven lost no time and blasted this one out of the way as well, fully prepared to berral in and start fighting other demon guards, but there were none. And what she saw in that room made her stop short with a gasp and a chock.

"MOTHER!"

The room was large and bare, except for an array of murals depicting a number of things. Raven had expected something like a dungeon, with many cells on either side of a hall where they'd have to look for the sacrifice. Instead a lone woman was standing in the middle, chained to the ceiling with her arms stretched out. She hung there, her knees too week to support her anymore, with cuts all over her body, whose only bit of clothing was a black shaft tied with a red sash. Her long black hair fell down about her, but enough of her face was visible for Raven to recognize, and her scent was unmistakable.

Raven's first reaction was to run to her, but both Malorek and Chire'ni grabbed her arms at the same time. "No!" They exclaimed in unison.

"It could be a trap!" Chire'ni said.

"It is, look at the circle around her!" Malorek hissed. Raven looked down and saw it.

Raven let out a string of swearwords and shrugged the two off her. **"Right, get rid of the circle."** Raven said, and she summoned the veil of Robin's blood that Malorek, as Malchior, had gotten for her. She sprinkled it about the circle, and then, once she knew there was no harm, began to use her boot to completely nullify it, making sure it would on no accounts be able to heal itself so that it was, therefore, destroyed. **"That should do it."** And then, without another word, she rushed forward.

The chains broke easily in her hands, and Arella slumped into her daughter's arms, limp and week, she was barely breathing, but she was breathing, and still alive. **"Mother, can you hear me?"** Raven asked, laying her down softly as the rest of the group came to join her, surrounding Raven almost protectively just in case there were any hidden traps.

"R-Raven?" Arella whispered hoarsely, her eyes opening slightly. "Raven…is it really you? Have you…come back?" She raised a hand to touch Raven's cheek.

"**Yes mother, it's me, I'm going to get you out of here."** Raven answered, lifting her into a standing position.

"No, Raven…you…have to…" She gasped, and slumped against Raven, who wrapped her arms around her in an effort to keep her standing.

"What do we do with her?" Asked Chire'ni.

"**We'll take her back to the ship, she'll be protected there."** Raven answered as Arella's arms clung to her form tightly.

"Raven…no…have to…" Arella wheezed, her arms held Raven tightly, and she shook, as though there was something important she had to say.

"**What is it mother?"** Raven asked, **"What's wrong? Is it Judora?"**

"…_Actually_," Hissed a voice that, in no way, belonged to Arella, "No, it's just that you won't be getting away quite so easily." It told her.

Raven heard something like a cry of alarm, and the next thing she knew she was somewhere else, her 'mother' was no longer holding her, and in front of her was none other than Judora herself, smirking. "Welcome, Lady Raven, I hope you'll forgive the hasty preparations, but, as you must have gathered, I did not expect you for another three days." She said, pleasantly.

Raven's blood seemed to freeze in her veins.

XP

A/N: BASK IN MY EVIL CLIFFIENESS! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, anyway, yeah, I actually almost cried while writing the first scene…almost, okay yeah I did…a little…

_Ahem, anyways_! Kinda light on the reviews here. You know you don't have to be shy, you _may_, in fact, yell at me that I'm an evil crazy witch who enjoys to torture you with painful cliffies (And, yes, if any of you actually decide to put that in a review I _will_ laugh).

Lea Cat: Sometimes it's tiring, especially when I'm not sure as for what's gonna happen next, like I know point A and point C, it's just point _B_ that I'm having trouble figuring out. That kinda sucks. But it's really fun! Writing anyway, And I wanna be an author too someday, so GO US FUTURE AUTHORS, WOO! HI FIVE! Okay that's not gonna work.

Pixie10111: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ANOTHER HORRIBLE CLIFFIE BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And Malorek's getting bold because he _feels_ like it, it's like when there are times when you just feel like being _crazy_, and other times when you're just not in the mood and everyone around you just needs a _chill pill_. It's that kinda thing. Overall though, I hope I'm doing alright getting their personalities merged into one!

Trenin: Why THANK YOU! Heheheheheh. I am QUEEN of the Cliffies! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—okay no, I'm not, but I still suck for them! (Did that make sense?)

Delirium24: You and the rest of the world, JUST KIDDING! Yeah, right, like the rest of the world reads my fanfic, (Snort), BUT ANYWAY, thanks for reviewing. ALL HAIL THE POWER OF THE SPORKS!

Alright, I think that's all I have to say, REVIEW PEOPLE! It gives me motivation to write faster, and is therefore in your best interests, heheheheheh ;)


	35. Undone

A/N: AND NOW, THE…ER…CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (Or at least I assume you've been waiting with all the 'Update or die' reviews I've been getting . Lol, j/k!) HERE IT IS! Enjoy.

XP

Raven regained herself with an effort, and let out a furious snarl as she attempted to launch herself at Judora, but the moment she moved she fell to the ground, staying in the very center of the circle. Her wrists, anckles, and neck were all supporting shackles, the chains of which seemed to be molded into the ground itself, becoming short to keep her on her hands and knees, even lower because of the one around her neck. Raven cursed herself, how could she have been so gullible! The Shifter would have looked, acted, and yes, _smelled_ like the one person she wanted to see in that particular position the very _least_, her mother. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ She told herself over and over, fighting with the shackle around her neck the most in order to look up and glare at Judora, who merely smirked.

"Now, now, can't have you upsetting my precious circle, can I?" She asked in a soothing voice that irked Raven to no end. "Please excuse the disgraceful position, but in your current state of mind, it is necessary." She said.

"**I'll have your head, Judora!"** Raven hissed, refusing to acknowledge the fear that was crawling into the pit of her stomach.

"And you must, of course, make the obligatory threat to my life. That will change though, as I'm sure you've realized, by now, everything that has happened, and will happen." She told Raven, sweeping over to a large table where chemicals and ingredients were stationed, a single cauldron bubbled to her right, and on the other side, where Raven looked to see, was an alter, on which was chained a terrified young girl in a black shaft with a red sash around the waist. She looked at Raven and Judora, too terrified to utter a sound, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Judora continued, "And I'm sure, as well, that you've figured out the cycle already, and that, due to the lack of…_adequate_ results, the cycle has changed every time. I hoped that my own 'future self' would have realized what the mistake was and I would not have to go through the humiliation of a failure, but I am quite sure that my 'past self' hopes the same of me." She turned around with a bottle in her hands, the contents of which resembled many layers of different colored dust. "She will not be disappointed."

Raven bared her teeth, **"Necronom, Hesbur—AAAAAAHHH!"** She shrieked in fury, as shots of pure pain was sent through her body at her attempt to use magic.

"I see you disapprove of this, don't worry, in exactly an hour and 24 minutes, you won't." Judora assured her pleasantly.

"**D888 RIGHT I DISAPPROVE!" **Raven raged, fighting with her bounds, her eyes blazing with anger, **"You think I'm just going to sit here while you go destroying everything I love, _again_! I'LL HAVE YOUR BLOOD JUDORA! I swear I'll make you pay for every life that was unjustly taken, for every soul tormented by your filth, for every drop of blood spilled in the name of your 'cause'! When I am through with you, you will not know pain, you will know deep, searing _agony_. I will tear you so deeply your body will not be able to handle such torment, I will torture you till you beg for death! And then I will shred your very soul into pieces and separate them in each level of hell!"**

Judora's expression was stone for a moment, and then she fixed Raven with a piercing and almost _stern_ look that she couldn't comprehend. But then this disappeared suddenly, replaced by an amused smirk as though it had never even been there, "Of course, you say that now. But once freed, you will thank me." She said.

"**I'll die before I let you change me into that, that _thing_."** Raven hissed, her teeth bared, **"All the innocents my future self has destroyed, their blood is on _your hands_, Judora. I know how you play, you are going to make me guilty, tell me that that creature, that _demon_ is what I truly am at my core. But it's not going to work, because I know better. You'll have to break my very _soul_ to turn me into that thing, I imagine that's what your 'future self' had to do. But it doesn't work, does—"**

Judora was suddenly standing in front of Raven, her eyes wide and her pupils small, her mouth in a stern line, staring at Raven with very little semblance of sanity, "_I do not want to harm your soul Raven I want you to come to me willingly, but you don't seem inclined to do that and I have to use force, don't I? You can't keep running away, this is what you were born for, this is what you were meant to be. Just accept it and come to me willingly or I will have to **break you**_." The voice that came from her was very sharp, the words seemed almost slurred together as they came from her lips, but were nonetheless clear.

This was, by far, the most fear Raven had ever felt from Judora. She looked exactly the same as she had before Raven was sent to this time, but she had become older, wiser still, cooler, calmer, and at the same time _more_ insane. But the fear that gripped her heart when she heard Judora speak like that, when Judora looked at her like that, the snake Familiar always wrapped around her waist, looming over Raven as well, it's red eyes fixed. She, Raven, no, _Dark_ Raven, who she thought could feel no fear, was absolutely terrified. She wanted to run away rather than attack, but she couldn't do either, and just stared as Judora shook herself and turned her back to Raven, though the snake's head twisted around, it's eyes not leaving her, its glare still holding Raven captive with that sense of terror she could barely explain.

"You're friends will be dealt with, make sure of that." Came Judora's voice, smooth once again, but with still a hint of anger in it. "There will be no one left to come and save you this time, Raven. Accept it, and become what you were meant to be." She said, turning now towards the cauldron, the bottle of colored sands, which was now smoking, was poured into it, causing the steam issuing from it to turn red. Judora took a dagger tied onto a string and dipped it deep into the cauldron, tying the string to the handle that suspended the cauldron itself over a pit of green fires.

_You're wrong._ Raven thought, but she wasn't going to say it out loud. Her throat was dry, and she was visibly shaking, glad that Judora's eyes weren't upon her in spite of the fact that the snake's were, and Judora seemed to have a very close connection with that snake. Raven gripped her hands into fists, _Malorek, please, **find me**._

XD

"RAVEN!" Malorek's howl of fury shook the entire chamber as a load of demons began to fill in, hissing and spitting as they all lunged for the group at the same time. The ones who were directly in Malorek's view were all destroyed, every last one of them, in a blast of pure rage that left a huge _line_ on down the middle. Almost half of them had been completely eradicated, causing a moment of surprise in the chaos, a moment that the others took advantage of and began to fight fiercely as Malorek slumped do the ground.

Shila's lightning bolts and Daniel's fire filled the area, Chire'ni had shapechanged into the mighty half-spider form of a drider, her inhuman shrieks pierced the air as she slaughtered those who came after her. Mace's icy touch left anything in his wake frozen, Grissom's power seemed to be working as well, demons simply dropped dead when his hand found their heads, Blade was practically flying about the battle field, he and Michael seemed to catch on to each other and they started fighting together, with Blade deafening the senses of each demon, and Michael simply able to anticipate every move without fault. Shade could simply not be touched, he disappeared into the shadows and reappeared behind his enemies, his knife tearing through them easily.

But Malorek simply sat there, he knew the others could handle the rest of the demons fine on their own, but he wasn't sure he'd have been able to fight even if they hadn't.

He'd lost her, he'd lost her again. Gods, they had been so _stupid_, assuming Judora's only method of teleportation was circles! Confident that, destroying the premade circle, Judora wouldn't be able to do anything. But, _how did she get a hold of a shifter_, of all demons! Shifters were suppose to be extremely hard to control, and _gods_, it had even smelled like Arella! They were all fooled, and now Raven was gone, _gone_, and they could only guess as to how much time they had before this would all be repeated once again.

A demon came after Malorek, but he stood up, grabbed it right out of it's attempt to attack him, and crushed its skull in his bear hands, his eyes blazing violet. All the demons who hadn't already been killed by the others were suddenly destroyed in a blaze of violet fire, everyone turned to see Malorek with the same fire in his hand, he crouched to the ground and began to change, everyone flying swiftly away to give him room for the silver dragon. He lifted his head to the ceiling and opened his mouth, shooting from it a spell which burned through each level like acid, exposing the darkened clouds above them all. He crouched and jumped, flying through the holes using his claws to grab onto the different layers and launch him farther up. The others followed, and soon they found themselves on the bank of the river.

Malorek raised his head to the clouds that swirled around the top of the T-Towar, "THERE!" he roared, the jewel that had been around his neck, now tied into the matter of his shape, told him that's where Raven was.

"We'll come back in the ship, it'll be faster." Chire'ni told Malorek, "You go ahead! Find Raven, we will do all we can." She said, and then she led the rest of them back towards where the ship would be.

Malorek nodded an agreement, and took to the skies. He didn't care if he was walking right into a trap, he didn't care if Judora was expecting him, all he knew was that he could _not_ let this happen, he had to get to Raven, no matter the cost.

XD

Come to me… 

"**NOOOOO!"** Raven screamed, writhing and struggling with all her might, fighting against it, trying to get free of her chains. Judora poured hot black liquid on her back and she screamed. It ate away at her cloak and sank deep into her flesh, and then it came back out, ripping itself out from inside of her. Leathery black, bat-like, a set of wings tore themselves from her skin, bloody and small for the time being. Judora was chanting, almost singing.

Come to me… 

"**I WONT! I REFUSE!"** She shrieked.

There is no need to run, 

Raven felt tears fall from her eyes, her cloak was destroyed and she was shaking violently. Her strength draining from her. She was pulled down onto the stone floor so that she was lying flat upon it, the chains released her, but she couldn't get up. Desperately, she tried to think of a way out, but her mind was blank with fear, and pain. _Malorek…_ She thought desperately, imagining him bursting in any moment and destroying Judora, coming to save her.

_**There is no need to be afraid,**_

She thought of him, of all the time they could have had together, of all the things they could have done. She loved him so much, it was like a burning inside of her. He would save her, he would come for her.

_**Come into my arms,**_

Raven fought to keep hold of consciousness, pressed down upon the floor as though tied with invisible chains, **"No,"** She sobbed, **"I'm not, I don't want to be a monster…"** Her eyes found that of the girl on the alter, her expression was like that of pity and sorrow, reaching out to Raven even though she didn't understand any of what was going on.

_**Let me embrace you with my burning chains,**_

**Help me…** Raven pleaded with her mentally, begging with all her might, **Give me your strength, I can't let this happen, I can't let her win!** She said. The girl swallowed, and nodded, a movement so faint that only Raven saw it. Raven prodded, and the girl relinquished her strength freely.

_**And let the fire revel your true form.**_

Raven, shaking, pushed herself up off the ground, but dark waves were already beginning to rise from it, and Judora's dagger was finished. _Concentrate,_ Raven ordered herself, _Avelona, if you're in there somewhere, I need your help, and I need it **now**._ The clues, what did she know? The darkness was beginning to entwine itself around her legs, feeling almost like sand, preventing her from being able to move very well. Fire seemed to crawl up her legs and throughout her body, reaching even to the very tips of her wings. Raven began to shriek in pain and she fought to keep hold of her consciousness, fought against the burning as it began to morph her, growing her hair out even longer than it already was, ripping at her clothes so that all but the barest necessities were destroyed, much like the demon she'd seen herself become. **"NO!"** She cried.

A single image came to her mind, the Tower, the bottle, the water…

Suddenly the door into the chamber burst open, Raven looked, her heart soaring for one second, believing it to be Malorek, but it wasn't. Instead three men and one woman had entered the chamber, "LANA!" Screamed the woman, running straight for the girl on the alter, not paying attention to anything else.

"How _annoying_." Judora hissed, conjuring a glass-like wall to prevent the woman from going any farther. The men stared at Judora and Raven, fear in their eyes at the two creatures who had destroyed their world.

"No! Lana no!" Cried the woman, who only had eyes for her daughter. Judora boxed the rest of them in the same glass-like substance.

"As touching as human love always is, you have no idea what you have just interrupted. Be thankful I only need one sacrifice, I will deal with you, and those pathetic excuses for guards, once I am done, make no mistake." She told them coolly, moving over to the alter.

"**No!"** Raven shrieked, fighting against the bounds, **"DON'T TOUCH HER, JUDORA!"** She yelled, and then, as though she should have done it a long time ago, she pulled out Avelona's bottle, filled with the light waters, and the darkness around her began to lessen so that she could move more easily.

Judora swept around, ready with a retort, when she saw what Raven had in her hand, and froze, "What—no! How did you, where," She stammered, losing her cool.

"**You won't be needing a sacrifice."** Raven said evenly, bringing the bottle to her lips.

"NO! DON'T! You fool, it could kill you!" Judora shrieked, moving forward, but her own circle prevented her from going any further.

"**THEN I WILL DIE!"** Raven screamed back at her, **"Die! Rather than become that monster again! Die rather than take the lives of any more innocents! I'll see you in _hell_ Judora!"** She yelled and then she pressed the bottle to her lips and began to drink, deeply, more deeply than she'd ever drunk something before. The liquid light burned her tongue like a strong drink, it burned down her throat, into her stomach, and through her heart, out into each and every vein. Half of it was gone before she stopped, barely able to cork the bottle before she fell to the floor.

The fire that spread through her body was a different kind of pain than that which she'd experienced by the hands of Judora, like a searing pain in an open wound as it's being cleansed with powerful alcohol, it sucked everything in and destroyed it, her wings were drawn back into her body, her fangs, her second set of eyes, her claws, everything left, leaving her with fair, but still tan skin, violet locks of hair fell before her as she knelt down, the two that framed her face with black and white on their tips. She felt a purity that hurt course through her, she screamed, oh it was painful. But she didn't die, and somehow, she knew she wouldn't.

"_NO_!" Judora shrieked as Raven got to her feet, though her legs shook violently, and she glared at Judora, panting heavily. She banished the crystal bottle, and instead took what was left of Robin's blood and used it to destroy the circle she was in.

"You, lost." She panted, staggering out of the circle, Judora staring at her as though she were some sort of impossible specter, "Water from The Cross courses through my veins, there is no way your plan will work now. I'm going, to go back, I'm going, to make sure, none of this ever happens. You," She pointed, "Will not win."

"You are weak, Raven." Judora cooed, regaining her composure, "How long will that water last before it leaves your blood stream? I can wait, Raven, I can wait, I have waited for a long time." She said.

"No, you can't wait." Raven told her. And then, almost as if on cue, there was a great explosion in the background, the roar of a dragon pierced the thick walls into the chamber. Judora spun on the spot towards the door where the sound had been closest, her face pale with shock.

"No, it, it _can't_ be!" She exclaimed in disbelief, she rounded on Raven, "He died! The ritual failed, but he had died! He cannot be here, no, I didn't send him…I KNOW THAT HE DIED!" She shrieked.

"Gray dragons, can't be killed, unless they kill themselves, so how can you know?" Raven asked, panting.

Judora bared her teeth, "Do not talk about impossibilities with me, _Avelona_!" She hissed menacingly.

"It doesn't matter, you've lost! The past, _my_ past, has already been changed! It has already happened, Judora, our pasts do not match, and that means that everything that happened here _will be erased_!" Raven hissed, just as Malorek destroyed a hole in the room, giving his magnificent body plenty of space to get through. He gracefully stepped over the humans who were trapped in glass and bounded on Judora before she had time to cast a single spell.

Judora let out a scream of pain as his hand attempted to crush her, and suddenly her familiar wriggled free from around her waist, and flew away, disappearing into its own vortex. Judora cried after it, "NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! YOU CAN'T—" But Malorek silenced her, he opened his mouth and took her body into it, ripping her clean in half and spitting out the top piece, throwing the other on that and burning the body with fierce violet flames. They turned silver as he chanted, and Judora's split body let out a terrible, inhuman shriek of pain. The flames became black, then white, and then the ashes seemed to disappear as well.

Raven fell to her knees, and then laid on her side, panting, eyes closed, fighting unconsciousness. They had done it, they had won, but it wasn't over, not yet.

Soon a pair of strong arms pulled her into a tight embrace. "Raven," He whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said, just as Chire'ni entered through the huge hole, a Dragounet, and began to dispel Judora's prisons from the humans there.

"Don't touch the alter, let me do it." Chire'ni ordered as the woman instantly made to get her daughter.

"It, he, he killed…The Sorceress, and The Demon…what happened?" One of the men demanded just as most of the group filed in.

Shila was bloody but it didn't appear as though the blood was hers, she seemed to have picked up a demonic sword and was holding it at the ready in case there were any more enemies. Grissom was nowhere in sight, Mace was supporting a nasty wound on his arm, one of Blade's legs had been burned completely off and he had to fly in order to get around adequately. Daniel was bloody as well, but the blood seemed to be his, Shade and Michael weren't there either.

"I knew you'd come." Raven whispered, putting an arm around Malorek's neck and hugging him close, "And, there is no need to apologize, I was fooled as well." She said with a sigh as he lifted her into the air, and carried her over to the others.

"So she's…human?" Asked one of the other men shakily, staring at Raven in Malorek's arms.

Chire'ni snorted, "Not hardly, no, she's half human half demon. Why do you think rosary never worked on her other self?" She asked.

"'Other self'?"

"We'll explain later. Are you all okay though?" Shila asked them.

"Lana's very week." The woman answered.

"She gave me her strength in order to fight the transformation, but she'll regain it after a few nights. Not that it'll matter." Raven looked up at Malorek's face, "It's not over." She said.

"No," He answered, "We still have to find the circle she would have used to send you back." He said. "I imagine it'll be somewhere in this room, protected, no doubt."

"Can't you, I dunnno, _rest_ first?" Shila asked, "I mean, for gods' sake, Raven looks as though she's about to pass out!"

Malorek nodded, "It would be a good idea to rest for a bit." He walked over to a wall and sat down, leaning against it and holding Raven to his chest. "So, what happened? I guess we made it before Judora could do much?" He asked hopefully.

Raven sighed, "No, I almost…" She raised a hand in order to rub her eyes, "She almost won, almost, I remembered the water, from the Tower, and I drank it in spit of her warning that it could kill me. It changed me back and destroyed her spell. I used Robin's blood to destroy the circle she was using, and was buying some time when you came. I couldn't have fought her in this state." She said.

"Right, so, can you just turn into _good_ demon Raven and drink someone's blood to get your power back?" Shila asked her.

Raven shook her head, "No, that's the thing, the water is coursing through my veins, it forced my body back into a form that could handle it, and it'll prevent me from becoming a demon in body. It blocked Judora's spell from changing me, but now _I_ can't change back, even if I want to. Look," She took out a dagger, turning around on Malorek's lap in order to show them as she slit her wrist. The blood that dripped down from it seemed to be laced with a web of gold and silver strings which glowed and sparkled. But then the blood drew itself back into the wound and it healed up. "See? When I try, nothing happens but that my wound heals and I can't do it." Raven explained.

"Right, we'll just have to rest." Daniel said, sitting down where he was, his legs crossed, head bowed. Everyone else followed his lead, they had won, but the price had been high for both groups.

"Yeah, and we can because I think the demons themselves all disappeared when Judora died, it's very quiet after all." Shila murmured. She was stationed between Mace and Blade, and she looked as though, even if there _were_ more demons, she wouldn't be able to fight. Her features were taunt, an emotional weight seemed to lay heavily upon her. Grissom's death was tormenting her, that was obvious, but she was able to keep herself held up by the knowledge that, soon, none of this would have ever happened, soon she would remember nothing, soon she'd be with the mother and father she never knew.

"Could, could someone explain what's going on?" Asked the woman.

"She's from the past," The girl, Lana, spoke up to everyone's surprise, "I, I think she was brought here to become The Demon, then she would go back to her time, and become the demon we know. That's what The Sorceress had intended." She said.

"You're correct." Malorek told her, nodding, "We were sent here from the past, before all of this happened, Raven is the past form of The Demon, sent to the present so that this far more experienced Judora could attempt to change her into The Demon she wanted. So far, she had been unsuccessful, only able to turn Raven into a mad beast, but now, she has finally lost. We are going to go back in time to help ourselves, as we know our future selves had done, and this future will be erased." Malorek told them all. "You will still be born, no doubt about that, but the life you live will be without The Demon, and without The Sorceress. You will have no memories of this time, and it is all the better that way." He explained.

They looked at each other, "How can you be sure?" Asked one of the men.

"Because time will correct itself, we will drive a hole in it using the blood of an angel, we will distort it enough so that, when its laws are set back in place, the future that _we_ want will be, and this future will simply case to exist. I know it's hard to understand, I know that you feel, now, like there is no way you can not exist, you are considering your memories and all the events that have taken place, but once we are gone, you will not even know that you have been here, you will never know, because the next time you find yourself at this age there will be no such things as demons and sorceresses. Comparatively, the life that awaits you will be far better, far more happy. As soon as Raven regains her strength, we will make sure of this." Malorek said.

Lana looked up, "She can have ours." She said. The group looked at her, "Let her take your strength, please, let her erase this future. Let's not wait any longer than we have to for it to end." She said.

Shila looked at the girl, and then stood up, "We'll all pitch in." She said, "The strength that we have left anyway." Daniel, Blade, and Mace all nodded.

Raven looked up at them all, and let out a sigh of relief as she pulled herself up, with Malorek's help. "Thank you." She said, staggering forward using the dragon's shoulder. She held out her hand to them all, "Let's erase this nightmare." She said. Everyone save Lana, even Chire'ni, crowded around, placing their hands on top of each other over Raven's, who cupped them with her other hand and began to probe each individual person for strength. It wasn't much of a memory, but at least she'd remembered _something_ from Avelona to help her. They all let their strength flow into her, and she took as much as she needed, leaving most of them slightly breathless, but overall just fine. She didn't need much from each individual after all.

"Before you leave, can I speak with you, alone?" Chire'ni asked Raven, a meaningful look in her eyes. Raven nodded.

"We'll look for the circle." Malorek said, and the two retreated to a bear corner of the room.

"Listen," She began, "In a deep way, I feel responsible for a lot of this, no, let me finish," She held up her hand before Raven could argue with her, "I want to say this, just in case my past self doesn't get around to it. Everything that's happened, a lot of it seems to revolve around my killing Avelona, not all of it, but a good deal. Saying that I'm sorry will do little good, but I want you to know that I am, and…thank you." She said to Raven.

Raven blinked, "For…what?" She asked, slightly confused.

"For being my sister. For loving me no matter how I acted towards you, no matter how many times I said I hated you, and in spite of the fact that I even killed you. Thank you for bringing me to my senses, thank you for saving me from my own demons, and thank you…for forgiving me. Looking back at my childhood I realize what a fool I was, I know this sounds very cheesy and sentimental, but only now do I realize that, while you were not like other children, you also loved me like no other child would have. Had I let you in, you would have stayed beside me no matter what, you would have been the one person I could bear my soul to and who wouldn't think me a foolish child. I can only hope that my past self makes no more mistakes after this. Also," She placed her hands on Raven's shoulders, "I want you to know that I love you as family, now I do. I don't remember if my past self does, but she will, I promise. You loved me so much as a child, I was simply too blind to see it and I drove you away from me. Now I want to love you, and protect you. I've written a note for you to give to my past self, yes, I know it's probably against the rules, but you _are_ using your half-angel's blood, so here. Don't look at it, I'm fairly sure that, in spite of the fact it's written in drow, you might be able to read it as it may trigger a remembrance of the language itself. Alright?" She asked, holding out a small piece of folded paper for Raven.

She nodded, "Alright, I promise not to look at it." She said, and she put it into her belt. Then she looked down at herself and suddenly realized how _little_ she was wearing. "Oh _gods_," She muttered, "I can't go back in time looking like this!" She exclaimed, causing Chire'ni to snigger. "But…maybe." Raven concentraited, perhaps she still had an extra costume in the T-Tower, all she had to do was summon it to her body. Next moment she was fully dressed once again. "That's better." She sighed.

"How'd you do that?" Chire'ni asked ad Raven stuffed an even _larger_ amount of hair into her hood with a bit of difficulty.

"I can summon and banish objects to and from the T-Tower, this was still in there, obviously, so I was able to get it." She answered.

"_Awwwww_, why'd you change?" Malorek wined, approaching them.

Raven leered at him, and then gestured him towards her with her finger, he came obediently, "Malorek?"

"Yeees?" He asked, though he knew what was coming.

_SMACK!_ She slapped him with the back of her hand. He rubbed his cheek tenderly, "Yes, I suppose I deserved that." Chire'ni let out a bought of laughter that he ignored. "Anyway, we found the circle." He told her, jerking his head over towards an area that use to have a large cage placed over it. "Do you…know what to do?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh yeah," Raven answered, walking with the two towards the circle, "Once I have a good look, I'll know how to alter it." She told him, and then she approached the circle, not touching it, but looking, tracing the lines with her eyes and fingers in the air, thinking hard.

She took Zacroma's blood from the space jewel on her belt and opened the bottle. "_Sanguineus Factus Spiritus, Factus Cendere, Factus Aura, Factus Aqua, Factus Ventulus, Factus Humus, Factus Fulmineus, Factus Lux, Factus Nox, Factus Mortis_." She chanted, drawing the blood from the bottle in small ribbons, and then letting it float over the circle. She repeated her chant as another ribbon came while the first entered the circle and began to spread out, altering symbols and lacing itself into the demon blood that was used. She continued to repeat the chant, more ribbons of blood came from the bottle and laced themselves into the circle, causing it to begin to glow, not red, but slightly silver. Finally she was finished, having used all of Zacroma's blood, just to be safe, and considered the circle. "Yes," She murmured, "I believe it will now transport us to where we need to be." She said, turning to Malorek. "Before we go, I think we need to make sure we know what we're doing. There's a chamber, a large one, just before the alter room where you were kept, there are thousands of demons there, you'll want to kill them while I help the others. Okay, Robin, Beast Boy, and Zacroma, all three of them will need help, but I'll transport you to the demon's room first, then I'll help the others and join you as swiftly as possible. We'll need to hide somewhere, make sure we're not seen." She said.

"I think I can make us visually invisible, these gems should allow us some form of mental invisibility as well." Malorek said, fingering the shard around his neck.

"Hopefully Judora will be too preoccupied to look very closely at us." Raven said, and then she stepped into the circle, light's began to shoot up from it as Malorek joined her. "Goodbye." She told the others, "I hope your new lives will be better than these." She said.

"Just give Judora a good kick in the rear end for each of us!" Shila told her.

Raven nodded, and then activated the spell. They felt the familiar falling sensation once again, only this time it was far more welcome, and this time they were in control. Malorek took Raven's hand as they waited, and just as they were about to pierce through the other side, the two of them levitated, keeping themselves from hitting the ground, were hundreds of demons stood waiting for their past selves.

Neither of them waited, Malorek let out a mighty roar, and Raven teleported to where she knew Beast Boy would be battling with Terra.

XP

A/N: WHEEE! Well, that's not much of a cliffie there is it? So you can't give me threatening e-mails! NEXT CHAPTER FINAL BATTLE YO! Heheheheh, and I have a real shocker planned for it as well. ALL SHALL BE REVIELED! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!11ONE

Lea Cat: Heheheheheheheh, well, here's your update! I hope it didn't disappoint! .

Trenin: Ha, yeah, but it _wasn't_ Arella, was it? Heheheheheheh. Anyway, thanks! I thought it'd been a bit long since I've put in a Nightwish song. So, here you go

Me: Yeah, Malorek dies ;.; And the next chapter will explain how Judora was able to kill a Gray Dragon. Heheheheheheheh.

Taiyoukai Lady: (Laughs)

Well, that's about it. JA NE MINA-SAN!


	36. A Failure to be Shed

A/N: DUN, _DUN_, **DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN**!

XP

"Terra, you have to fight it! Come on!" Raven heard Beast Boy cry, she spun around. Beast Boy was in his elvin form, and Terra flying after him with a huge stake made of earth above her. "Terra, Zacroma, Raven, I'm sorry." Raven heard Beast Boy murmer, before she moved in to act.

Wordlessly she cast the spell, the snake let go of Terra's neck and shrieked with an otherworldly voice as it fell, ashes, and turned into dirt. Terra was only able to catch a glimpse of Raven before she teleported into another room, her heart pounding, wondering if she'd done that right, _praying_ that Terra only had a glimpse of her white cloak.

She ended up in a huge room filled with rock and lava, Slade was dodging away from Robin, who's hands held the sword Raven had made for him. She flew into the shadows, hoping that she wouldn't be seen. "What's the matter Slade! Scared of my little knife? How does it feel when the rolls have switched and _I _have the advantage over _you_?" He taunted scathingly. Slade whirled around and hit him with a blast of fire. Raven had to force herself to keep from crying out as Robin simply stood there blocking it, all the while Slade was shooting right at him. The next thing she knew, Slade had knocked the sword from Robin's hands, and the terrain was beginning to take effect on him. Raven began to whisper her spell as quietly and swiftly as she could.

"You lat your guard down. Got too cocky, that was always your weekness." Said Slade, "Goodbye, Robin." He said, hand raised to finish Robin off with another fireball. Raven's spell flew at Slade, a movement that caught his eye just in time for him to let out a cry of surprise, but not enough to dodge. It engulfed him, and destroyed his body, leaving only a melted metal shell.

Robin was opening his eyes again to look around, Raven swiftly teleported into the hall that was the exit from the room. "White cloth?" She heard Robin murmur. "Whoever you are, thanks." He said. For a moment, Raven stared at the door, wondering if he'd see it, but doubted it. So she kicked it hard, causing it to open up. She teleported herself before it was finished.

For a moment, Raven could only stare at the place where Zacroma had been transported to. It looked like a construction sight made entirely out of _glass_, which was understandable, as anything metal would be to Zacroma's strength. She looked down, Zacroma was narrowly avoiding all the attacks by stray objects and the structures themselves. And she fell, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo preparing to finish her off against their will, Raven moved forward, hoping no one would see her, and heard Zacroma say something under her breath before she opened the crystal bottle and poured its liquid onto her head. Zacroma looked up, but Raven was fast and she teleported to another area, hiding low to the ground in the shadows as Zacroma began to scream.

Raven watched, her eyes burning, as the half-angel's wings tore themselves free of her back, tears of blood were falling from Zacroma's eyes as she screamed in agony, I similar agony to that which Raven herself had experienced in drinking the water. A purity so great it was painful. She turned white, her clothes, her hair, even her skin lost its tan, and the light that came from her was blinding, more than blinding, Raven had to shield herself with her cloak. It was like being too close to the sun, a sun whose light shone with every color, the light of the First God.

Raven fought to keep herself where she was, the snakes that had been controlling the H.I.V.E. members had been destroyed in the blast, and now they were approaching her cautiously. "Z-Zee?" Gizmo hailed.

"Zacroma…" Mammoth said.

"**_Don't come any closer!"_** A thousand voices echoed from Zacroma's mouth.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" Jinx asked.

"**_Please, if you can, leave! I don't know, how much longer, I can hold it back. GO!"_** Raven took this as her cue, in spite of the agony it was to get too close, she was somewhat protected by the memory of such pain, Raven reached out her hand behind Zacroma and pressed it to her back. Their energies seemed to draw each other, entangle, and then sooth. The light began to fade, but before it did Raven was gone, there was one thing left to do.

When she reappeared in the room with the many demons, Malorek had just finished killing off the last of them, and Raven flew down beside him with the crystal bottle and the piece of white cloth in her hands. "I think it was here." She said, placing them in an estimated spot, and backing away. "It'll be a while, a few minutes maybe. I'm not sure." She said. "We'll have to do this right, I remember breaking the spell that was going to use you as a sacrifice, and then I was flung into the circle with Judora looming over me with an hourglass in her hand, casting the time spell. What do you remember?" She asked.

"I remember coming out of a trance, I saw the battle, but I saw you being grabbed by the demon, I scrambled after you, just when Judora had already activated the portal, she was about to stop me, but something distracted her from the spell and I was able to get to you." He answered.

"I saw a white cloak as I fell, so it must be _me_." Raven said. "Alright, can you cast the invisibility spell now? I think it would be best to enter with the others, or enter as they do and simply phase through the wall." She told him.

"Right." Malorek took her hand and closed his eyes, concentrating. She felt a soothing cool, like ice spread from his hand and crawl it's way up her arm, spreading out in all directions, up her neck, down her torso, through her other arm, and down her legs to her feet and even the tips of her hair. When she looked down, she could only see maybe a shadow of herself, and the same of Malorek as well. "Don't worry," He said, "We're completely invisible to others, don't let go of my hand though, or the spell will be broken." He told her.

"Right," She nodded, "Let's watch from above, less chance of being run into, right?"

"Right." He responded, and the two rose into the air, waiting for the Titans and Raven's past self to come through the hallway.

They didn't have too much longer to wait, Raven's past self came through, a fierce determined look in her eyes, but then she stopped abruptly, so abruptly that Chire'ni ran into her, letting out a string of words in her own language that sounded suspiciously like swearwords. Zacroma gasped, and Blachfire exclaimed, "What the heck?"

They stared at it, and then the other Raven's eyes found the bottle and she gasped, running over and picking it up. "I don't' believe it." She breathed, "It's the bottle, the one in my dreams!" She exclaimed.

Zacroma bent down and picked up the white cloth that the other Raven had left beside the bottle, "You're going to need that, I think." She said, handing it to the past Raven.

"Okay _what_ is going on?" Blackfire exclaimed.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do. But I think our white clothed friend is the one who killed off all the demons." Robin answered her. Raven chanced a glance at Malorek, but his expression was hidden in the inability to see his face properly, still, she _knew_ there was a look of amused irony there.

"Alright," The other Raven put up the cloth and bottle, "Let's go." She said, and they ran, their footsteps echoing while Raven and Malorek flew after them, silently and invisible, but still someone, who'd taken to the are, crained her neck around to glance behind her. For a moment Zacroma looked as though she could see them, but she turned her attention back towards the two doors, which were soon blasted open by the past Raven.

Heart beating fast, the future Raven phased through the wall with Malorek, but they stayed there, watching, and waiting as the familiar scene unfolded before them.

Judora, her hands in the air, was standing before the alter where something was shimmering, two bodies, had just become one as the past Raven yelled, "_Azerath, Metriom, Zynthos_!" But it was deflected by the barrier the snake had crafted. Smoothly, Judora slipped out of the casting, her snake taking her place, and turned to face them, her face an expression of shock at the sight of them all there so soon, "How—" She began, but she was cut off, Raven charged and the others came in as well.

The battle began, Raven dodged around the summoned demons straight for Judora, power was building up, and she shouted, "_Necronom, Hesbureck, Mortix_!" The blast was so powerful it knocked Judora out of the way, smashing her barrier so that she could concentrate on the snake, blasting it aside and taking its place in order to undo the spell.

Raven waited, breathless with anticipation, having to force herself to simply watch as her past self unwound the spell, and then was grabbed and tossed by a demon into Judora's circle. She watched as the other Malorek ripped himself off the alter, stared around briefly, and then shot after where Judora was just about to send Raven to the future.

_Now_. A voice inside Raven's head said, and she acted. Judora turned, attempting to keep Malorek from following Raven, "Oh no you—" The other Raven came in, for a brief moment there were two Ravens at the same time, but the other Raven was beginning to fall through the circle, Malorek going after her, and future Raven sent a blast at Judora which only distracted her enough to look, and there she saw Raven coming after her, "_What_?" She gasped, Raven flew around her, and sent a blast of pure energy at her, the back of her cloak exposed to the now closing hole in the ground.

"_Necronam, Hesbureck, Mortix_!" Raven cried, sending her power all throughout the battle field, attacking the demons who still fought with her friends and allies.

"_Argenteus, Cendere, Spiritus_!" Malorek's voice came in, their powers began to mingle, creating a force that shielded their friends and eradicated all the demons, twisting about each other, the silver flames cradling the myriad colors of Raven's energy, soon silencing the battle field, all eyes on Raven and Judora.

Judora staggered backwards, her snake slithering to meet her from where Raven had thrown it, "But, but, no, how, I just, I just," She stammered, staring with shock in her eye. "_How_," She gasped, "**_How_**!"

"Raven? Dude…ah…what happened?" Beast Boy asked.

"Why is her hair even _longer_?" Blackfire demanded as Judora's snake began to curl around her waist.

"We'll explain everything later." Malorek told them, stepping forward.

"It's_ over_ Judora," Raven said as she began to gather power about her, her hair and cape raising with the energy. "You've lost, you failed once more! And this time, this time you _won't_ get away!" She snarled.

Judora stared at her in disbelief and fear, backing away as Raven prepared the final attack, but then something happened that made her stop and stare. Judora spluttered, her eyes began to bulge and she clutched her middle, the snake was squeezing her.

"What—what are you doing?" Judora gasped, trying to tug the snake off of her, "No, no I can still—" She cried out and fell to her knees and hands, her scream stopped suddenly, and she began to shake before them, an odd sound coming from her. And when she raised her head to look at Raven, the expression made her step back, a familiar fear clutched at her heart.

Judora was _laughing_, but it wasn't her usual laugh, no, it was in a slightly horse voice, a voice of one being squeezed to death, but there was something more there, a glint in her eye and a twisted smile on her face, her eyes bulging, but though the madness was there, there was also a cool, calculative air about her. "_Well, done, Raven, well done_." She said, standing to her feet, "_It was only a matter of time, you do struggle so admirably. What a failure, what a failure._" She said, and she was looking at her own hands.

"What, what's going on!" Someone yelled, possibly Terra, Raven didn't look to see, her eyes were glued to Judora, her snake was obviously still squeezing her, but her movements were smooth, and her air…_different_, like the Judora Raven had seen in the future, the one who she'd threatened and turned on her with a hiss that had terrified Raven.

Judora chuckled, but her eyes didn't leave Raven, she was staring at her with something close to hunger, longing, Raven took a step back, trying her best not to let her fear show, "_You know, she fought, day and night she fought. Ever since she saw you, ever since she knew, she fought. She fights even now, how annoying it's been, how hard it was to twist her mind. She must have loved you very much. What a failure._" Judora repeated, and as she spoke something began to happen, it was as though her skin itself had begun to melt off, its color dripping to the floor and disappearing, leaving behind a coal black color. "_But it was useless, once I am called, I cannot be banished. And she called me, she called me with such rage in her heart._" Raven's eyes widened as Judora's hair began to lose its color as well, becoming…_white_. "_But then, no one really knows they have been calling me until I come. And I came, because I knew, I knew she would lead my to you._" Judora fell to her knees and the ground, let to slam into the hard stone as though she were nothing more than a rag doll. Her colors finally changed, Chire'ni let out a gasp, and Raven's hand went to her mouth.

A face she recognized, a face she _knew_, looked up at her, red eyes brimming with tears, an expression of fear and anguish. The snake continued to squeeze, raising itself above her.

"You…" Raven breathed, too stunned to do anything else, to shocked to move.

The drow opened her mouth, "_Avelona_!" She gasped, "Avelona, run, _run_, please, I can't—I can't hold her any more. You must run, you don't know—she's," Val'hilran, the one Chire'ni had sworn that Avelona had killed, the aunt that had wanted to adopt her, to be her mother. She let out a scream as her back began to rip open. "RUN!" She shrieked, but Raven couldn't moved. It was as though she were frozen on the spot, no one else could move either, no one else could speak, to think, all they knew was what was happening before them.

Darkness, deeper than anything they could have imagined, a black that went beyond simple color rose from Val'hilran, it mingled with the snake, as though a shadow were merging back into its true body, and it began to twist and expand, it's form changing. Zacroma let out a piercing, terrified scream.

A head could be distinguished by the red eyes that glowed from it, something like folded wings curved up around it, the form seemed armless, but something trailed from the blackness beneath it, chains. The chains spread out along the ground, changing it, turning the walls and ceiling into something else, or was it transporting them to _somewhere_ else?

They were on a rocky landscape, malevolent figures and structures could be seen in the distance, no suns, but there were stars, and the light was adequate. Raven looked around, the others had been transported a good ways away, still within hearing range, but there was a wall that kept them from Raven and Judora…or whatever this thing was.

Raven backed away even farther as the shape became distinguishable. A woman's body, clothed in a shoulderless dress that fell to the ground in waves of darkness, her hair was long and straight, black and reached down so long that it seemed indistinguishable from her dress itself. Her skin was blue-gray, a color of death, her eyes were completely black with red slits for pupils and a black fire seemed to come from them, her lips were bloodless, and her teeth were pointed into fangs, as her ears were long, though much longer than the drow she'd come from. She had three wings, all of them black and broken, tattered, ripped up and molting, rotting horribly. But she was bound, around each wing, her arms folded in front of her shackled around her, and on down her dress in chains, chains that trailed along the blackness, twisting and turning of their own free will. Rusty chains, iron gray and thick.

She smiled at Raven, who felt her body freeze with a familiar fear, but this was much worse, it was as though she'd simply been a little scared before, simply dreading something, but yet comforted by the fact that her _true_ fear had yet to make an appearance. But this, this was her true fear, the thing that caused her ears to ring, her body to shudder, and her mind to scream only one thing at her: Run.

But she couldn't run, there was nowhere to run, she couldn't get away, she had to fight. She always fought, but why was such a prospect now so terrifying?

XD

"RAVEN!" Robin exclaimed, banging on the wall, Malorek doing his own to try and break it down. They didn't seem to hear them, either that, or Raven was simply to terrified to pay attention. The fear in her eyes was almost more frightening than the woman who stood before her, but none of the Titans were willing to let Raven fight on her own.

Except, maybe, one.

Zacroma fell to her knees, staring with a look of utter horror on her face at the woman, she was shaking violently, and it looked as though she were silently screaming. "What, what is it, Zacroma?" Beast Boy asked, everyone turned to her.

"It's…I don't, believe it…" She let out, chocking on her own terror, "A, a Dark Angel, one of the Fallen…we've been fighting, against, a Fallen Angel all this time…how…_why_…" She lowered her head and continued to shake, "It's over," She sobbed, "It's _over_, we're only mortals, earthly beings, we can't possibly hope to defeat her…" She whispered.

"Val'hilran…" Chire'ni murmured, staring at the body not too far from her position.

XD

Raven swallowed hard, fighting with herself, to regain her voice, "Who…are you?" She whispered, taking yet another step back.

The woman smirked, **_"I am the serpent who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, I am the demon who possessed Judas in the garden of Gethsemane, I was the first of the Fallen to join Lucifer, I craft the chains of the Fiery Pit to bind and torment, I am the angel who guards over the end of existence, I am Jezebel, I am Judora, I am Yulazrielle."_** She had two voices, one was deep and smooth, it echoed in Raven's mind moments after it had been used, and the other was harsh and sharp, the one that Raven had heard from Val'hilran's mouth.

Her heart tightened, she was several yards from the Fallen, but that didn't erase the need to step back even farther. "Why…" She uttered, "Why…"

Yulazrielle moved forward, and Raven stopped, unable to go back any more. She looked down and saw a set of shackles around her ankles, tying her to the dark angel as she seemed to glide closer, **_"Why have I come here? Why have I appeared before the Time of Judgment? Why did I possess the drow you once saw as family? Why, why do I torment you? Why have I singled you out? Why do you fear me so?"_** Raven struggled against the chains on her ankles, but it wasn't as though they simply held her there by their presence, she couldn't move her feet, they were stuck to the ground, completely paralyzed, and she struggled, moving as though trying to get them out of the ground itself.

"_N-Necronam—_" Raven tried, but Yulazrielle drew an arm from across her chest, the chains followed, and a shackle found its way upon Raven's neck, sucking the words out of her throat. A finger, long and bone-like, touched it's claw-like nail to the jewel upon Raven's forehead. Raven froze completely, her eyes glued to Yulazrielle's face.

"**_You know, Dear Child, you know the answer to all of those questions."_** She whispered. **_"You've run for so long, but now it's time to stop running. You have tried so hard, I know, you were but a child but you struggled so much, your blood moved against you and you couldn't bear it. So you ran, you created many demons whose sole purpose was to destroy your mind, you tried to destroy your self in the process, knowing, fearing, and screaming. Constantly screaming, twisting and turning, running for so long. But you could never truly forget, no matter how hard you tried. You know what I speak of, don't you?"_**

The words came from Raven's mouth of their own accord, "Avelona's secret…"

"**_You're name is Raven, they gave you that name, but it is Raven. It is your secret, the secret tied with your memories, with the form you were born with."_** Yulazrielle's hand went down from the jewel and she cupped Raven's face in her hands, coming close to her, looking at her in a way that Raven _didn't_ want to name, couldn't name. But it was there, it wouldn't go away. **_"There is no need to run, there is no need to be afraid, come into my arms, let me embrace you with my chains, and let the fire reveal your true form."_** Yulazrielle wrapped both arms around Raven, her chains coming around her, shackles finding her wrists, the chains themselves wrapping around her arms, legs, torso, everywhere.

Raven screamed, she screamed like she had the other night, when she'd had the nightmare, the nightmare about that voice, about these very chains. She screamed as the chains themselves bit deeply into her flesh, as they burned, _searing_ pain all over her body, beneath her flesh, into her blood and heart. She began to scream even more loudly, a pain that she had never known before, something she couldn't name, couldn't describe but utter _agony_ was coursing through her, it was like fire, but no fire had ever felt like _this_.

Yulazrielle's arms released her, and the dark angel glided away, letting Raven fall to the ground, still screaming, the chains continued to dig into her flesh. She could see flashes of things across her vision, a burning image, she could see Yulazrielle, Yulazrielle was holding her, clutching her, wrapping her in chains. She saw someone else, someone that lay upon the ground, broken, a man, wings destroyed, covered with dirt and oil, hair torn from his head, skin the color of death, white robes tattered and tainted with blood and dirt.

Raven could feel her skin beginning to melt away, feel something deep inside of her ripping away at her flesh, reaching out, pushing away her body in order to _become_ her body. Her cloak was destroyed, and something was tearing itself out of her back in two places, two, no, _four_.

Her body began to grow, shaping into that of a woman rather than a girl, her hair falling, becoming even longer, and something was growing from her back.

The first set of wings were like crystallized light, they stretched high and mighty, transparent and prismic, each individual strand on a feather made of a crystal. The light that came from them was almost blinding, but it dimmed as the second set appeared, broken, bent, ugly, they were black as Yulazrielle's and they _hurt_, it was a pain to bear them, agony to allow them any form of movement. The chains shied away from the crystal pair, but wrapped tightly around the other, causing more pain to shoot through her body.

It hurt, it hurt so much, the blood that ran through her veins was like liquid fire and ice at once, both fighting with each other, combating, struggling. The eye on her right bore an irradiant disk of silver and gold, while the one on her left was black with a red slit for the pupil, both burned with fires of their own spectrum, ripping at her sockets so that tears of blood flowed from them. She grabbed them in her hands which were white a snow, but almost gray at the same time. Her fingers were long and delicate, but with claw-like nails at the ends.

"**_No…"_** Raven moaned, the jewel on her forehead was burning brightly, a fierce red that she couldn't see. All she could see was Yulazrielle, and the angel, nameless, fallen, and utterly broken. **_"You…you killed…"_**

"**_Killed? No, no no no, I did not kill him, I did much worse than that."_** Yulazrielle took Raven's face in her hand and forced her to look into her face, **_"You're father called me, Raven, and I answered. One does not know that they call me until I come, and when I come, I cannot be banished. What happened to him was his own doing. To love as humans love is forbidden to an angel, to love human is not allowed, but me, me, Raven. To love a Fallen as a human would love a human, what happened to your father was his own doing. The result, your birth, was to mark his shame forever. You saw him, and you saw me, and you fled, you ran from me. And oh, Raven, I have never known of such pain, never known how a mother feels when she loses a child. I did then, I have constantly, it is an entirely new pain, a pain that I am not fond of."_** She then pulled Raven to her feet and held her close, **_"Forget your father, Child, forget his foolishness, it no longer matters to us. Come to me, Raven, be one with me, forget the flesh you bore from reincarnation, remember only your true self, and stay with me, forever."_**

Avelona's secret, she was half Fallen Angel, half Arch Angel, she'd crafted herself human flesh, created those demons that possessed her in order to destroy her own mind. She tied her soul to her body so that she might, one day, be able to kill herself, or at the very least forget. Forget what she'd seen, forget what she knew, forget what she _was_. Avelona, the White Magus, the greatest sorceress of all time, was not human, had never been, could never even hope to be. She was a creature born of light and darkness, a forbidden mix that had cost her father everything, and more. But why, _why_? What was the purpose? The point? Why had she been spared? Why did she live? Why was her soul allowed to be formed within the womb of a Fallen Angel? Why….why…

Something inside of Raven seemed to click, something that hardened her posture, something that gave her strength. **_"You,"_** She whispered, **_"You seduced him, you did it on purpose, you gave birth to me, on purpose, so you could become one with me. So you could tap into the power of the First God. You don't want me because you're my mother, you want me because I have power. You don't love me, you never did, you just want the power, you want to alter what's been foretold."_** She said, there was no more fear, there was no more running. There was no point, this was how it was, she couldn't run any more, Yulazrielle was right, she had to stand and face it. Fear was replaced with another emotion, an emotion that gave her power to stand strong. Anger. Not rage, pure, justified anger.

Yulazrielle's arms tightened around Raven as she began to work, attempting to pull Raven into her, but the barrier would not let her, **_"Oh Raven, you will insist upon turning me into the villain, you will insist that I cannot possibly feel anything resembling human emotion. As I said, your father called me, he was undone by his own wish, his own wanting. Power? No…No, I want you Raven, you, my child, my daughter. I love you, I do so love you, but my love is different from that which you have witnessed thus far. No more running, come to me,"_** She whispered, **_"Come to me, come to me. Be one with me."_**

Raven opened her mouth and uttered a single, solitary word, **_"No."_**

Something broke free, fire, white and pure flowed from her being and burned away the chains, forcing Yulazrielle back with a cry of fury, her chains no longer able to get near Raven. The second set of wings, the black and torn wings were being drawn into her back, both eyes were burning with white fire, and her hair began to rise, separate locks like tendrils seemed to lift and move of their own accord, her power flowing through them, making them almost like extra limbs, something that she always did, something that was so familiar to her she did it automatically.

And there was a voice, a voice deep inside of her mind, coming from her own thoughts, _Repeat after me_. It said. _I, Raven, call upon those entities subject to me._

"**_I, Raven, call upon those entities subject to me,"_** Raven began, listening to this voice as her power multiplied by the minute, **_"Reveal yourselves to me, let your strength become mine. Let my happiness be your happiness, my sorrow also your sorrow."_** She said, she felt something begin to pulse within her, something that forced away the darkness, overcoming it, eating it and rising inside of her, **_"To those who stand before us, to those who dare challenge our might. Our mind, our bodies become one, let the spirits of the earth and the sky hear our song, let them tremble before our might."_** Her crystal wings spread out, and the earth beneath them did tremble as she was lifted into the air.

"**_RAVEN!"_** Yulazrielle screamed, a sea of darkness welled up from her, a giant tilde wave was thrown at Raven, filled with rage and hatred.

"**_Let the darkness be engulfed, let all that stand before us be thrown into oblivion, by the power you and I possess. Rites of Tribulation!"_** Power, burning, invigorating power coursed through her, summoned from beyond the planes of reality. It banished her fear, banished her rage, all that was left was anger, pure and untainted, righteous fury, she took to the air and came down upon the wave of darkness, parting it with her fist, directed at Yulazrielle.

The dark angel dodged out of the way, slipping to another part of the battle field like a snake. The power that had been exerted settled, but Raven was still coursing, her body burning with white fire, the marks from Yulazrielle's chains still red, but faded in the fire that cradled her. Raven turned and shot after the dark angel, who met her, their hands met and they clashed, pushing against each other, both powers conflicting, struggling, Raven fought for dominance, but it was hard to tell who had the upper hand, in spite of Yulazrielle's expression of effort.

"**_You cannot defeat me child!"_** She hissed, the rock around them was being destroyed, blasted up into the air causing a crater to form emanating from their struggle.

"**_Watch me."_** Raven came back defiantly.

They were blasted apart by their own energies, but neither stopped their attack. Yulazrielle's chains shot after Raven, but they could no longer touch her, so Raven touched them, grabbing hold of several, **_"Necronam, Hesbureck, Mortix!"_** She cried, sending a blinding white power through the chains towards Yulazrielle herself, forcing her to take the attack. She shrieked and sent her own wave of power through the chains, but Raven had let go and moved into the air away from Yulazrielle.

The battle became brutal, claws were used, Yulazrielle had taken to the sky as well, her three wings beating the air desperately, as though it were painful to fly, but this pain did not show itself on her face. Her shrieks were punctuated by Raven's own shouts. Fists, legs, even wings were used in the struggle. Raven sent arrow after arrow at Yulazrielle, infused, still, with the light waters of The Cross, but soon she knew, she knew that it would not be enough. She was only half-angel, and though her dark angel half gave her body the strength to wield both powers, half of her was the same as Yulazrielle, and that half was fighting against her as well, from the inside it began to burn with the purity she was trying to force her body to accept completely, fighting against it, forcing it away.

Soon it would be over, soon she would no longer be able to fight. She had to do something, something desperate, but…what…

She knew what, she knew, but the price would be very high. Very high indeed.

Raven and Yulazrielle at last broke from each other, standing far away, staring at the other, both panting in some way or shape, studying the other. Raven stood up straight, her wings spread out wide, and she did the same with her arms and closed her eyes, **_"Our father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name."_** She began, and as she spoke, the earth began to tremble, her voice began to sound like thunder, and Yulazrielle's eyes widened.

"**_You fool."_** She said calmly, **_"You will destroy yourself! What are you thinking? He will not answer a prayer from you, if only to smite you where you stand!"_** She shrieked, but Raven ignored her.

"Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who've sinned against us,"

The darkness around Yulazrielle was becoming less and less with every syllable, Raven's light was beginning to press upon her even at a distance, the wall she'd created to keep the other Titans out of the way shattered, but rather than move in to help, Zacroma stepped forward and created another barrier, one that circled around all of them, including the limp form of Val'hilran.

"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Raven finished.

It was as though all the power that she had summoned was being stripped from her, taken, and given, to feed the creature that raised itself from within the thick waves of power that were emanating from Raven, white fire surrounded it, but it was beginning to take shape. Six wings from it's back, two covered his face, and two his feet while the last pair flew at Yulazrielle, who stared at it with fear in her eyes and a silent scream of terror on her lips. As it came after her, it opened its wings, and Yulazrielle's eyes began to rip and tear, bleeding profusely for she could not look at it. The creature engulfed her, wrapping all three wings around her form, and then it disappeared. Taking Yulazrielle back to hell, back to where she belonged.

She'd won, she had defeated her, finally, after all this time, after all the running, all the struggling, she had faced that which she had feared above all else, and she had won. But, at what cost?

Raven's knees found the ground, which turned into the cool stone of Judora's hideout. She just had time to extend her hands and catch herself before the rest of her body slammed into the ground. She felt her wings draw themselves back into her skin, felt her body shrink back into that of a teenager, her skin became normal, her eyes their usual blue-violet. Her long tendrils of hair fell about her, limp with the lack of power that usually flowed through them.

The world was going dark, she could hear voices, feel a pair of arms picking her up, but she could neither recognize these voices, nor could she see the faces. She was losing sense of her body, soon she wouldn't be there anymore.

It was over, her life, her purpose, to rid herself of the evil that plagued her. She'd done it, finally, she'd done it.

And now she could rest in peace, finally in peace.

XP

A/N: Few! So, did that shock you? Or are you all so use to my antics that you were expecting something like this? Yes? No? . In any case, I hope I didn't disappoint! At first I thought of having a battle between the titans and just _Judora_, and then when they killed the snake Judora would turn into Val'hilran and talk to Raven, making everything all sad and traumatic. Also that Avelona's secret would be a bit more simple, that she was simply half-demon, half-angel, and her mother cast her upon the earth with all those demons possessing her in hopes that she'd be destroyed. BUT! I thought this was more dramatic, especially tying Judora to Avelona in such a way that the quote, "Oh, I don't hate her, I never did. We're like family after all." From chapter 12 would have a lot more meaning and substance than simply the fact that Val'hilran had been Avelona's adopted aunt. Don't worry, though, the talk between Raven and Val'hilran will still take place to explain _why_ Val'hilran called Yulazrielle and how Yulazrielle was able to possess/taint a drow.

Also, a few of you might be confused about the Judora that you've all come to know and hate and how she fits in as both Val'hilran _and_ Yulazrielle. But I'll explain that later _within_ a chapter. Also, I'd like to make it perfectly clear right here and now that Yulazrielle is completely and utterly _FICTIONAL_! As in she has no biblical substance whatsoever, neither her name, nor her supposed 'being' is mentioned. I _know_ it was _Satan_ who possessed the snake to tempt Eve, and Judas, well, never actually says whether Judas was actually possessed or not, form what I remember. All I'm saying here is DON'T ARGUE FACTS WITH ME NOW BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED ARTISTIC LICENSE! This will not have been the first time I tweaked things up for the sake of the story. Just work with me, K? Because I really don't feel like getting, "But there was no 'First of the Fallen'! Nor is there a 'chainmaker-whatever' Dark angel!" reviews. Artistic license people, artistic license. Literature is a tool of chaos, deal with it.

Yeah, I'm kinda tired at the moment, can you tell? Still, I hope most of you were able to enjoy the actual story without paying too much attention to stupid things like FACTS. (Grumble grumble) Anyway, I'm sorry but if I'm going to get this chapter up today I can't respond to reviews. It's Monday, and Mondays kill me due to the 3-hour class I have to go to in about 30 minutes.

Ja

PS: NO RAVEN'S NOT GOING TO DIE! DO NOT EVEN ASK ME THAT BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE ANSWER AND I'M SAYING THIS BECAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO ASK ME! Heheh, okay, I'm done.


	37. The Dragon's Ring

A/N: **WARNING**! THROWING TOFU-FLAVORED JELLY DOUGHNUTS AT UNSUSPECTING DARK DRAGONS IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF ANYONE NEAR ENOUGH TO YOU TO BE SUSPECTED OF THE ACTION! PLEASE PELT JELLY DOUGHNUTS IN THE PRESENCE OF A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL AND TRY TO AVOID BEINGS WITH SHORT TEMPERS AND LOTS OF POWER. THANK YOU!

XP

"Is…is she?" Beast Boy swallowed hard, staring shakily at the form in Malorek's arms. The silver-haired dragon didn't respond, he simply stared at Raven, a dead look in his eyes, as though the only thing keeping him from dying himself was the hope that it was only a dream.

"Almost…she's almost…but not quite." Zacroma said, everyone turned to stare at her.

"What can we do?" Malorek exclaimed, coming to her, desperately.

Zacroma shuddered and shook her head, "Nothing, we can do nothing, but ask." She answered.

"A-ask?" He questioned, trembling.

"Raven…may not want to…to come back." She answered, taking a step back and looking away from Raven.

"I've said it before, and I'll likely say it again, but WHAT IS GOING ON?" Blackfire suddenly burst out. "What was all of that? Who was that-that creature, thing, dark angel _whatever_! Since when did Ms. Dark-&-Depressing have wings like _that_? And what the heck was that woman talking about, 'you can't run', honestly, and I know for a _fact_ that Raven's mother was the _human_ one, not the demon-dark angel-whatever!" She ranted.

"SHUT UP!" Malorek roared suddenly, causing Blackfire to freeze with a small squeak at the look in his eye, "None of this concerns you, woman, you don't _have_ to understand _anything_, so just shut up and let _us_ speak!" He ordered, so severely that everyone stared at him. He was shaking, almost violently, and holding Raven close to him as he turned to Zacroma. "How," He said in a far calmer voice, "How do we ask her to come back?" He whispered.

Zacroma took a deep breath and stepped forward, she could hardly bear to look at Raven, her clothing torn and ripped so that much of her skin was exposed, and her skin bearing those horrible burns from Yulazrielle's chains. Likely she'll have them forever, Zacroma shuddered, but came closer anyway. She gestured for Malorek to lay her down, and then took his hand, placing her other over Raven's eyes. She closed her own and began to whisper a prayer.

XD

It was dark, quiet, and peaceful. She was laying down on soft grass, with flowers popping out of it here and there. There was a tree over her, protecting her from whatever sky there was above. It was a big tree, it stretched its branches out widely, it seemed to offer her a soothing cool and a comforting warmth at the same time. She closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. It was so nice, like she had her own little garden, for she could sense more flowers and bushes around this tree. How nice, so sweet, the fragrance, the grass, everything was perfect. It was like heaven.

"_Raven…"_ Whispered a soft, familiar voice. Raven rolled over and tried to ignore it. _"Raven…please, please, come back, come back…"_

"But, it's so nice here." Raven whispered, fingering one of her flowers. She remembered it, it was one of the flowers she'd always tried to grow, the snap-dragon. They were always so beautiful, but only lasted a day. But here they would last forever. She smiled to herself.

"_Please, please come back, we'll miss you, we need you Raven."_ The voice begged, it sounded tearful.

"No you don't," Raven answered, "I've done what I meant to do. I was born for a purpose that wasn't my own, I have defied this purpose, I have overcome that which I feared the most, that which haunted me all my life. She will not come back, it was only through me that she was able to appear before the Time of Judgment, she wanted to use me to alter the course of history, to change what was foretold. But she can't do that anymore. So you're safe from her. I'm no longer needed."

"_But we love you Raven! We love you, we don't want to go on without you! Please, please don't leave us! Think of Arella, think of your friends, think of Malorek!"_ Zacroma's voice began to sob.

Raven paused a moment, "…Malorek?" She murmured.

"_Raven,"_ Said a new voice, _"Don't go, please, don't leave me, not again. We need you Raven, **I** need you! Don't leave, please, please…"_

"I can't…" Raven curled up into a ball, "I can't go back. I can't…"

"_Why? Why can't you come back?"_

"How, how am I suppose to live with myself from here on? How can I live, knowing what I am, what I was? I can't, I can't…"

"…_Raven, remember what I said?"_

"What?"

"_Remember, I said there was nothing, nothing you could have done, nothing you could have _**been**_ that would keep me from loving you. I couldn't give a **crap** about who you're mother was as Avelona, I could care even less about your father! No one is going to care, Raven, no one is going to care what you are. And neither should you. You're important to us, not because of your power or your wisdom, but because we love you, _**I**_ love you. Come back, Raven, please."_

Raven's eyes began to water and she tried to hide from the voice in her hair, "But I…I don't…I can't…" She sniffed. She didn't want to leave this place, this peace, but…Malorek. He would be hurt and…and she didn't want to lose him, she wanted to be with him, but she didn't want to leave.

Suddenly, there was a shout, _"Malorek? MALOREK NO! DON'T!"_ Zacroma shrieked. And then Raven felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, and a cool dread gripped her in the chest as she rolled around to find Malorek laying in the grass beside her.

"What…what are you doing here? Malorek you can't stay!" She exclaimed, but Malorek simple pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Yes I can, it's easy, I simply don't go back and eventually my soul will completely separate from my body, just like yours." He answered calmly.

"But, no, no Malorek, don't die! You don't have to stay here just because of me!" Raven cried out.

"Raven, I'm not going back without you." He told her, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"But…"

"If you stay, then so will I. You can't ask me to leave, Raven, I'm not going to do that." He said, then he brought her up and pressed his lips to hers, his tongue swept into her mouth for a moment before he drew back, "I know you're tired, I know you don't feel that you have a roll to play anymore, but think of the people you'll be leaving behind. Think of your friends, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, Zacroma, think of Chire'ni. She still needs you, Raven, _I_ need you. Please come back, come back with me." He whispered, and then he pressed his lips to her chest where her heart would be.

Raven wrapped an arm around Malorek, and he picked her up. When she gave him no resistance, he then turned away from the tree, away from the garden, and back, back into their bodies.

XD

Malorek was holding her when she opened her eyes, his eyes were smiling with relief, and there was a cheer as the rest of the Titans soon realized that she was alive. Raven wrapped an arm around Malorek's neck and held herself closer to him, "Let's go home." She breathed.

"My thoughts exactly." He responded. "I'll do it." He said, "Everyone grab a hold of me, I'm going to teleport us all back to the T-Tower." He told them.

They did so, and the next moment everyone was back in the living room, where Shade, Daniel, and Michael were all waiting. They stood up, but were forced to sit back down by Robin in order to be fully healed by Zacroma. Malorek let out a sigh, "We will explain everything that happened in the morning, for now, why don't we all get some sleep." He suggested.

"_Good idea_." Beast Boy said, "But uh…" He looked around at the five new additions, "We're kinda short on room space…Dude, what the heck?" He exclaimed, suddenly realizing the fact that there were _six_ new additions instead of five. Chire'ni was holding Val'hilran in her arms.

"Don't worry, she's alive, but only just. She'll be dead soon enough, but I think there's something she has to say to Raven before she will let herself die. It can wait till morning, however. Until then, she can stay in whatever room I stay in." She answered.

Robin looked a bit wary at this, but nodded, "Alright," He said.

"We can just sleep here in the living room, no biggie." Daniel told them.

"Blackfire can stay in my room!" Starfire exclaimed, much to Blackfire's annoyance. But she, with a slightly wary glance at Malorek, she didn't argue.

"Fine." She grumbled.

"I'll stay with Beast Boy." Terra said, smiling and taking the Changeling's arm. Beast Boy's eyes widened as Zacroma twitched and stalked over to them.

"Ah, excuse me? No you won't!" She snapped angrily.

"Ah, Terra…there's something I have to tell you…" Beast Boy said, awkwardly prying her off his arm.

"Well, we do have an extra room because now we have Malorek instead of both Malchior and Rorek." Cyborg pointed out.

"Two extra, if that's the case. Val'hilran and I will stay in the one Malchior use to occupy." Chire'ni said, "The other can have Rorek's."

"But, we still have Malorek." Cyborg said, turning to her.

Chire'ni raised an eyebrow, "Heh, you're so cute when you're naive" She told him smirking. Cyborg's face flushed crimson, though whether this was out of realization of what Chire'ni had implied, or the fact that she had called him 'cute' it was hard to tell.

"Let's go." Raven whispered, Malorek agreed and decided to simply teleport them both into her room.

She sighed and slipped out of his arms, testing her legs with his help, and finding them sturdy enough to use. She looked down at herself, and clenched her teeth. She still had furious red burns all over her arms, legs, and waist. There were lines around her neck, wrist, and ankles where the shackles had been, most of which would be covered, had her costume not been ripped into barely modest shreds.

Malorek wrapped his arms around her from behind and placed a kiss on her neck where the burn mark was, he licked it a few times, and said, "It shouldn't be too hard to hide them."

"They'll never leave." Raven murmured.

"What does it matter? Don't think of where they came from, think of how much more…_interesting_ you look with scares in the shape of chains wrapping around your body. Don't put shame to them, look at them proudly, as the marks of your victory. Think about it, you faced the Fallen Angel Yulazrielle, and _won_. They don't have to be ugly unless you make them that way." He told her.

Raven let out a deep sigh and smiled at him, "Yeah, you're right." She said, and she turned around to kiss him deeply.

He kissed her back, slow and deliberately at first, and then she felt him messing with something behind her. The next moment she heard the sound of his gauntlets hitting the floor, and his bear hands began to trail up and down her waist, sending shivers up her back. He pulled her closer, and his fingers began to trail along the indention of her spine, causing her to breathe in sharply through her nose, her back arched to make the indent more pronounced. He leaned in, his tongue moving into her mouth and tasting her greedily, possessively. So sweet, he could hardly get enough.

They were on her bed before they realized what was happening, Malorek had once again shed his armor and the top of his body suite with a single spell. His lips had finally left hers and they trailed down her neck, kissing the burn mark that was there, and then down along the chain. He stopped where she still had clothing, but started up again on her middle, causing her to gasp, and then a small moan escaped her lips as his lips found her belly button and he began to swirl his tongue around the inside of it. She squirmed slightly, shivering as his hands held her hips in place. He blew, making her to gasp once more, and then his tongue trailed around that area, going back inside once again, causing her to let out a small 'oh', and shudder.

But just then, Raven's door suddenly opened, "Raven, I'm begging you, can I stay in—" Blackfire stopped abruptly and stared at the pair of them, her eyes wide as lollipops. "Oh, my—"

"DO YOU _MIND_!" Malorek bellowed menacingly, his eyes were blazing red and his teeth seemed to have grown points to them.

"I guess that's a no." She said, and she closed the door, still looking stunned. Raven waved a hand and her door bolted itself shut.

"Well, now that the moment is _completely_ ruined." Malorek grumbled irritably.

"We'll be getting that a lot, you know that. It's the downside to living with a lot of other people." Raven sighed, resting back on her pillows. It was only then that she suddenly realized she'd been holding Malorek with more than just her arms. Tendrils of her long hair fell limp across the bed to add to the exasperation she was feeling. "Okay," She muttered, "I really must insist this time around, _I need a hair cut_." She said.

Malorek looked like she'd just shot him, "What! No you don't!" He exclaimed, "Look at how useful it is! You can pick things up with it, you can hold things with it, you can even strangle people or hold them upside down by their ankles with it!" He exclaimed desperately.

Raven paused, "I seem to remember doing that a lot…" She muttered.

"'Woe be to the fools who doth dare trifle with milady's hair.'" Malorek said, chuckling. "Also, if you remember, you found a way of gathering it to your scalp for when you wanted it out of the way, _without_ the use of magic pins and hair clasps." He told her.

Raven pursed her lips and considered. The next moment each tendril of hair began to curl up, coming towards her head where they pressed themselves there, making it look as though she had it all pinned back save the two long locks in front of her face. "Oh, well, that's handy." She murmured.

"Great, so, now that you've decided _not_ to cut your hair," He said, and then he ran his fingers into her scalp, undoing the magic that bound the huge amount of hair there and forcing it all back out.

"Hey!" Raven exclaimed, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"Is it so bad that I love your hair the way it is?" He whispered, running his fingers through her long locks. Raven felt a blush creep to her cheeks, even though it was silly. Still, the way he'd said that made her heart start to beat swiftly, and she was suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious about the fact that she might as well be on the beach with how little she was wearing. He wrapped his arms around her form and looked at her, "Raven, is that a blush?" He asked, smiling at her.

Raven leered at him, "No, it's a sunburn." She snapped back.

He chuckled, "And what a beautiful sunburn it is." He murmured, kissing each of her cheeks, and then recapturing her mouth in his own.

They kissed passionately for a few minutes, the heat seemed to be growing once more, but then Malorek pulled away and looked at her, his expression sober. "Raven…There's something I've been meaning to ask you, for a while now, actually." He said in a very serious voice.

"W-what?" Raven panted, her heart sinking. What was so important for him to know now that he couldn't wait until the morning? Did it have something to do with Avelona?

"Will you marry me?" He asked.

For a moment, Raven simply stared at him, her mind went almost completely blank, not registering what he had asked, and certainly unable to comprehend the beautiful diamond ring he had in his hand, which looked to be just the right size for a particular finger on her left hand.

"It doesn't have to be soon," He went on, "But, eventually, someday…maybe?"

Raven suddenly launched herself at him, completely turning the tables so that now she was on top of _him_, their lips connected in a fury of passion and joy, and it was a while before they stopped.

"So…I guess that's a yes?" Malorek murmured when Raven finally pulled away, he was slightly dazed, it was kinda cute actually.

"Gimmi." Raven said, snatching the ring from his hand and putting it on her finger. It was beautiful, the band was small, perfect, but so detailed. It resembled a dragon wrapped around her finger with a diamond in its mouth, and it was a _single_ diamond, but it had been chiseled and shaped into a rose. It looked as though it had been made for her, not too big, and not too small. Perfect, absolutely perfect. And to add to the effect, the dragon's eye happened to be an amethyst. She grinned at Malorek. "You were preparing to give this to me as Avelona, weren't you?" She asked.

Malorek blushed, "Honestly? Yes. So I've been meaning to give it to you for a _very_ long time now. I had a dwarf cast it for me, though I had to do the rose myself. You…like it?" He asked.

"You're…kidding, right?" Raven asked, her mouth twitching.

"Soooo, that would be a yes?" He questioned, smirking slightly.

"That would be a 'kiss me you fool'." She answered, and then she launched herself back on top of him and began to do just that.

XD

(A/N: Warning, while there is no Lemon as I have time and time again told you that I do NOT write lemons, there is mentioning, trace amounts of non-explicit nudity, sexual innuendo, and slightly inappropriate funneh. You are warned, not that most of you care I'm guessing. Xb)

Morning peeked through her curtains, but barely. Still, it was enough that Raven could tell it was morning, or rather it was long past morning, even though the entire tower still slumbered. Perhaps fitfully, but they slept still. Raven's eyes fluttered open, but then she closed them again and snuggled closer to the warm body that had its arms wrapped securely around her form.

Malorek squeezed her softly, "Did you sleep well?" He whispered.

Raven smiled, "Better than I have in a long time." She answered.

"No nightmares?"

"No."

"Good." He angled his head down and captured her lips up in his.

Raven sighed and sat up, automatically bringing the covers over her form in an effort to be modest, in spit of the fact that there was no need, not any more. "Is it over? All of this, Avelona, Judora, everything, is it over? Or is there something else in the back of our memories waiting to take shape and attack us?" She asked.

"Love, what could _possibly_ be worse than facing down one of the Fallen Angels? Trigon may have been the Messiah of Lucifer, but Yulazrielle was the first to fall. She was, by far, the greatest enemy any of us has ever faced, though you were the only one to face her." Malorek answered.

Raven nodded, "It was only right." She sighed, "Avelona, I, we have been running, fighting to get away from her all our lives. But now, now I'm free. I'm not free of what I was made into, but I'm free of _her_, and the purpose_ she_ gave me." She said, looking at one of her hands, her normal pale skin color greeted her there, as did the burn around her wrist and the chain marks trailing up her arm. But they weren't ugly, no, they marked her victory, she was proud of them.

Malorek wrapped an arm around her middle and pulled her up into his lap, pushing her hair out of the way and nibbling her neck. He pulled down the blanket, causing her to blush slightly. She knew it was silly, but she still felt…slightly self-conscious, shy, even, in spite of the passion they'd shared the night before. "Ah, Love," He sighed, "We've waited so long, worked so hard, but now, now we can finally be together, forever." He whispered, an arm coming around to cover her, but she only sighed into his embrace.

"I love you." She whispered, an arm of her own coming around to caress his neck, her hair seemed to wrap them both up in a cocoon-like embrace of its own free will. She twisted her neck around and he bent down to capture her lips once more.

And then there was a knock on the door. The two of them twitched.

"Raven? Robin has sent me to wake you up, also, it seems sir Malorek is missing." Starfire called, and then she let out a small squeak.

"You and your dragon might want to get dressed before someone decides to open your door without knocking." Chire'ni's voice came through the door.

"They did, last night. But we locked the door so that shouldn't be a problem." Malorek said. Chire'ni let out a chuckle.

"Sir Malorek! It is very inappropriate for you to be in Raven's room like this!" Starfire exclaimed. The two looked at each other and held back their laughter.

"Yes, I'm sure they realize that. I'm also sure that the _things_ they've been doing in there are even more inappropriate, now lets let them have a bit of privacy while they dress themselves, or each other." Chire'ni said. This time Raven blushed, feeling rather embarrassed at this.

"There's an idea! Thanks." Malorek called.

"You!" Raven exclaimed, slapping him, but he only grinned and Chire'ni let out another burst of laughter.

"I do not under—" Starfire began, but it seemed Chire'ni was moving her away from the door, still laughing on down the corridor.

Malorek grinned at Raven, "Can I—?"

"No." Raven said flatly, and Malorek sighed.

"Can't blame me for trying." He said as she pealed away his arms and her own hair, which she then called into her scalp once again. It felt _much_ better staying there, and the forelocks that reached down her chest seemed to give the style a nice touch.

She used magic to dress herself in one of her extra costumes, and turned only to see Malorek giving her a rather pathetic pouty look, with bottom lip sticking out and everything. Raven sweatdropped, "_No_." She repeated.

"Awwww, but _Looooove_, I don't feel like getting _all that armor_ back on all by myself." He wined.

"Then you can just walk around naked for the rest of the day." Raven responded.

"Mmm, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" He asked. SMACK! "Now you have to admit you walked right into that one." He pointed out, a nice blistering red hand mark on his cheek.

"GET DRESSED!" Raven ordered, her face burning with embarrassment.

XD

"Morning." Raven greeted, but the rest of the titans only grunted, even Starfire looked as though she were about to doze off again, much to Blackfire's relieved pleasure. Robin looked up and nodded, then blinked.

"Uh, what happened to your hair?" He asked. Suddenly Zacroma pirked up, her eyes wide.

"AIIIIIIIII! NOOOO, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CUT IT! WHY?" She demanded, waking _everyone_ up with that.

"_Owe_," Chire'ni hissed, clasping her hands to her ears, "_Must_ you be so _loud_!" She demanded irritably.

"Zacroma, I didn't cut it, see look." Raven answered and she let her hair come back out from her scalp, its tendril's floating around her rather lazily, but they were floating nonetheless. It was hard to explain why or how, but for some reason it seemed to take more of an effort to let them fall down about her shoulders like normal hair than to allow her power to flow through them and turn them into extra limbs. "It's something I remembered from Avelona's spells, she had hair this long and would bring it into her scalp like this," She retracted her hair while everyone watched, "For when she didn't want to mess with it." She explained. "Why I seem to have to make it move around like it does, I'm not sure."

"It's because of your power," Chire'ni answered calmly, having been the only one in the room, aside from Malorek, who didn't seem shocked, or amazed at Raven's hair. "Avelona had a lot of power, and letting her hair grow long while putting power into it was a way that kept it from building up too much." She explained.

"That makes sense." Raven said, sitting down on the couch next to Chire'ni, Malorek stood beside her.

"Okay, well, at least you didn't cut it." Zacroma said, looking relieved. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Right, well, first thing's first." Robin said, calling attention back to him, "What, exactly, happened?" He asked Raven, "I could have sworn there was a time during that battle when there were _two Ravens_, one of you had fallen into a trap set by Judora, and the other attacked her. Then, suddenly, we have Malorek Rechior rather than Malchior and Rorek."

"Um, could we have a heads up on a few _other_ things as well? We're not sure what's going on." Daniel asked, Michael and Shade both nodded in agreement.

"_I_ would like to know who, exactly, that Judora woman was, and also who that Yulazri-whatever was suppose to be." Blackfire pointed out. "I'd also like to know what the heck happened to Raven and why she looks so different, also what the heck it was that she turned into, and what the heck that _thing_ she summoned to kill Yulazri-whatever."

"Well, as to that, I think I can answer most of those." Zacroma said pleasantly, "Judora…well, Judora was apparently a drow that Raven, as Avelona, _knew_, whom Yulazrielle Tainted/possessed by becoming the serpent that was Judora's familiar, Shinigami. Yulazrielle is a dark angel, the first to follow Lucifer into hell, and the crafter of the chains that bind and torment, as she told us all. What _happened_ to Raven, well, she nearly got absorbed by Yulazrielle, that's what happened. Raven looks so different because, one, she's been cleansed of her father's evil, and two, she's apparently acquiring more and more of Avelona's characteristics. Raven turned into Avelona, who, apparently, was the daughter of Yulazrielle and a Nameless Arch Angel. And the thing Raven summoned was one of the Seraphim, but it didn't _kill_ Yulazrielle, it banished her. You can't exactly _kill_ something that basks in death itself. Or that is already dead for that matter." She explained.

Blackfire stared at her, "Oooookayyy, so, who is Avelona?" She asked. "Raven's evil twin or something?"

"No, Raven is Avelona reincarnated. Avelona was once the greatest sorceress in the entire cosmos, probably the greatest of all time." Zacroma answered.

"And now, I think, we know why." Raven said coolly. There was a small pause at that.

"So, ah," Beast Boy came up, "I'm a bit confused, was Avelona half-demon, half-angel or what?" He asked.

"_No_." Raven all but hissed, her fists clenched and her eyes hidden beneath her forelocks, "That in itself, it's bad, worse than being a half-angel, yes, but this is a _Fallen angel_, darkness deeper than the blackest pitch, these are the creatures who _created_ the demons, they are the same creatures as Lucifer himself, Satan, in other words, but they serve him as his own band of arch-angels while he tries to play god. The Nameless Arch Angel who fathered Avelona is nameless now, and forever, _because_ of that crime. Not _only_ did he indulge in human pleasures, but he did so with one of Lucifer's own. Yulazrielle came to him because he called her, you heard her say it, and then I was born, born only to give her power. Myself as Avelona wasn't human, she was never human. She crafted herself a human body, entered the human realms, and yes, created those demons who possessed her herself, using them to destroy her mind. She couldn't stand being what she was, she couldn't stand remembering. That's what Avelona's secret was, that's what she was hiding." Raven looked at Malorek, "I heard her, in my nightmares, I heard Yulazrielle when the Death Wraith attacked. She said I couldn't pretend _it_ didn't happen, she was referring to what happened to the Archangel after I was born. She said I couldn't keep _it_ from happening, then she was referring to our merging, where she would take Avelona's power for herself and Lucifer. She said I couldn't forget what I was, she was referring to the fact that I, as Avelona, was half dark angel, half Archangel." She explained, and then she looked back down at her hands, staring at them. "This body, it's still half demon, half human, but my mind and soul know another body, and just as I can transform into Dark Raven, a full demoness, I can also transform into Avelona." She then leaned back and sighed, looking at all their expressions, "To be honest, I almost wish I could to back to being regular Raven." She admitted.

"_Yeah_, you're not the only one! I'm suppose to hate you people, and it's not very comforting knowing that I'm up against the most powerful being in the cosmos!" Blackfire exclaimed.

"Ah, don't think I would go _quite_ that far," Raven began.

"Isn't it though? Perhaps you should give up now and save yourself future embarrassment." Malorek suggested smugly.

Blackfire sweatdropped, "You know, I haven't heard _your_ story yet, since when were two people suddenly one person? From what I can tell first you were Malchior, then Rorek, and now some freakish combination of the two." She jabbed.

"That'd take a lot longer to explain, and as you've just admitted to being an 'enemy', it's really none of your business. In fact, you shouldn't even be here at all. So why don't you go crawl back under whatever rock you came out of." He snarled, causing her to jump, suddenly looking a bit frightened.

"Malorek." Raven chided, and then she looked at Blackfire, "Listen, Blackfire, why don't you consider changing sides, rather than stay our enemy?" She asked.

Blackfire gave Raven an incredulous look, "_Excuse me_? What the _heck_ makes you think I'm going to suddenly join you're little 'super hero' gang all of the sudden?" She demanded.

"Oh, but, Blackfire, we would be most—" Starfire began, but Raven held up a hand to silence her.

"No, think about it, Blackfire. Think about what you've seen. You can't tell me it didn't frighten you, that it didn't shake you up. I know better. You've seen true evil, Blackfire, you've seen what can happen to those who call Yulazrielle, and you don't know that you call her until she comes, and when she does she cannot be banished so easily, or at all. I'm not saying that you should join us, per say, but that you shouldn't be so hasty to cause harm or hurt others for your own personal gain. I'm not saying that Yulazrielle will come to you, she chooses who she comes to very selectively, finding those in which she can do the most damage, but think about it. That's the path that you're on right now, is that really what you want to become? Do you want to be like Yulazrielle, like Judora, the Blood Clan? You can say that you're on your own side, that you're our enemy not their allies, but in the end that's what it boils down to, in the end you will have to chose." Raven told her.

Silence greeted these words, and it seemed all eyes were on Blackfire, whose face seemed to have gone slightly red, her mouth opening and closing as though she didn't know how to respond. Her expression was twisted into one of both irritation and consideration, also, Raven could see something working beneath her eyes, knew that what she'd said had sunk into her mind. But Blackfire stood up, "Screw you all." She muttered under her breath, and then she swept out of the living room, no doubt heading for the door. Sure enough, the next thing they saw was Blackfire outside the living room window, shooting up into the sky and out of the earth's atmosphere.

"Oh…" Starfire sighed, sounding disappointed.

"Ah, who cares anyway?" Robin said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay," Said Beast Boy, "There's still something I don't quite get, so, what's the big deal is with 'Avelona's Secret'." He said, "I mean, what's so bad about being half-ultimat-demon-person, and half-archangel?" He demanded.

Raven took a deep breath and let it out slowly, she knew it wasn't just Beast Boy, most of the others seemed interested in hearing this as well, "Look," She began, "An archangel is a favored of the First God, they're powerful, pure, they follow His laws rigidly. To indulge themselves in human pleasures is a great and terrible sin. To done human skin and appear in the realms of man is, in fact, a practice used frequently. You see angels coming to earth a lot in history, even nowadays they do it, you just never know when they're around or if they're a certain person or not. They're indistinguishable from someone else in the crowd because they don actual human bodies. Nowadays they do, use to they didn't _have_ to have complete human forms to walk the earth. Still, that being said, it _is_ possible for an angel to loose sight of his or her true purpose and become tied to earthly things. They can get involved with a woman, or man, of earth because their mortal bodies distract them, and then they fall, they become broken. The true Fallen angels are those who followed Lucifer to hell. They are at the opposite end of the spectrum, pure evil where archangels are pure good. It is forbidden for an angel to become involved with a _human_, worse with a demon, and much worse with the Fallen. I've already explained this." She said.

"Yeah, you explained all of that, but that doesn't explain why _Avelona_ was ashamed of it! She didn't make her father fall in love with a Fallen angel! She didn't—" But Raven lifted her hand.

"Beast Boy, that wasn't love. What the Nameless Archangel felt was _lust_, lust to know what was on the other side, lust to know what a human knows, what a demon knows. He called Yulazrielle to him, but there was no love, not a single bit. Yulazrielle is not a creature you can love. As for Avelona," Raven sighed and leaned back, "I suppose you wouldn't fully understand what it's like, most of you wouldn't," She glanced at Zacroma, and the two shared a knowing look.

"What what's like?" Beast Boy pressed on, as no one else seemed inclined to do it.

"What it's like, being a half-breed." Malorek answered soberly. "You have to understand, generally, half-breeds are almost _always_ viewed with contempt, with any race, with any culture, bonding with an…outsider is never seen as a good idea. It's taboo, and being a half-breed makes one a mark of that taboo. You're never fully accepted into either side as a half-breed, shunned by both, and sometimes rejected by others. You're a mark of your parent's rebellion against the social laws of your culture or race. And in those days the children were treated as guilty of their parents' sins. Raven, as half-demon, is only respected by her demon fellows because of the purpose she was born for and because of the unusual circumstances _of_ her birth. If it was known that the White Magus was half Fallen Angel, half Archangel, well, let's just say she wouldn't have had very much popularity, neither with humans, fey, or anything else. She would be feared rather than revered and respected, it wouldn't have been information taken lightly. Very few people would have wanted anything to do with her, most would simply not understand and try to destroy her. In fact I'm willing to bet that the mere knowledge of a creature like that walking the earth in flesh and blood would unsettle anyone who heard of it." He explained.

"Avelona had reason to keep this a secret," Raven added, "but it was more than how society would see her, this went deep, on a very personal level for her. She saw, when she was born, what her birth, what the result, had done to her father. A being, the purest of the pure, lay broken, ugly, and utterly destroyed, worse than dead, because of his own mistakes. She was a mark of this mistake, she was a creature born of two completely opposing sides, forbidden, twisted and obscure. This knowledge would have tormented her, and Yulazrielle would not have helped matters much either." She said. "Do you understand now?" She asked Beast Boy.

"Sorta, but I still don't see what the big deal is!" he exclaimed, as though, for all the world, Raven was acting _racist_ or something, "So far as I've heard, they're still the same thing, angels. Just opposite ends of the spectrum! I mean, isn't Malorek like a connection between opposite ends! Wouldn't you get a Gray Dragon if a Crystal Dragon and Ebony Dragon mated or something? I don't understand!"

Raven, Malorek, and Zacroma stared at him. "Beast Boy, I am going to say this once, and I'm going to say it slowly, _I, am, fey_. _I am a creature of magic, **magic**. It's not the same_." Malorek told him.

"Okay, now _I'm_ confused as well," Robin admitted, "Beast Boy has a point, what's the difference between a Dragon and an Angel in this particular sense?" He asked.

"What's the difference! EVERYTHING!" Malorek exclaimed, as though this should be completely obvious.

"Alright, remember what I told you about the mystical beings dying out by order of the First God? And that all other gods had to leave the earth as well? Okay, Angels, Dark angels, and Demons are all creatures under the jurisdiction of the First God. Technically _everything_ is under His jurisdiction, but these are the creatures that no other god could touch. They're separate from the fey and mythical beings like dragons and elves. In essence, they don't even exist on the same plane of reality. With the fey, the greatest power is balance between those entities we call 'good' and 'evil'. For fey where there is good, there must be evil, where there is evil, there must be good. That's why a Gray Dragon is the most powerful dragon next to the deities, because they're _balanced_. But with the Angels, it's nothing like that. There is no balance, there is no 'in between', you are either good or you are evil, you can't be both, not with the angels. Mixing these two is…well, forbidden. Like the greatest of sins an Angel could perform. The Nameless Archangel was broken for his crime, and Yulazrielle…I believe she was punished with her chains. Punished for attempting to defy what was set, attempting to use a child in order to get her hands on the power of the First God. _Now_ do you understand?" Raven asked.

"…oh." Beast boy said simply, and Raven sighed.

"There's really nothing we can say to help you understand the severity of such a thing happening." Zacroma said, "Words fail to describe it, fact of the matter is that Avelona was a walking impossibility. She should never have been allowed to be conceived, she was only born because of Yulazrielle's interference, I believe. Avelona knew this, she knew what she was, and was horrified by the very thought." Zacroma shook her head, "Like I said, we can't really describe it, but Avelona trying to destroy herself, to, at the very least, destroy the memory with demons of her own creation, it was completely understandable. The act of someone who truly couldn't handle the very thought of what she was. It's like blocking out the memory of, say, killing your parents. Say you loved your parents and you miss them a lot, and then you suddenly remember that you killed them. Only multiply that by about a hundred. Avelona herself wasn't responsible for her birth, how could she be? But she had every reason to be ashamed." She explained.

"Rrrrrright," Beast Boy said, though he still looked a bit confused.

"I think I get it, I don't get the, 'horror' I guess that you're trying to describe, but I understand all the same." Robin said, and Starfire nodded her agreement, along with Cyborg.

"Now, though, I think it's time you explained to us what happened, all of it." Chire'ni said, before anyone else could get off topic.

"Right." Raven breathed, "Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning, the beginning for us anyway. Where Malorek and I were sent through Judora's trap, and into the future…"

XP

A/N: Right, I hadn't initially planed on them doing it, but a friend insisted Xb. Anyway, THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! You probably guessed that by the less-than satisfactory ending, but there you go. Not much more to say here, except that I've got a deviantart account (woot!), and also I DREW A FANART OF MALCHIOR SCARFLESS YO! Anyone who wants to see it go here: http/rhea-hiryuu. And you can also check out some of the other stuff I've done, but you don't have to. What you HAVE to see is this one flash cartoon I have in my Favorites, it's called 'Happy Pill', and IT IS SO FRIGG'N FUNNY, I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING YOU HAVE TO SEE IT! Okay, I'm done.

I don't have anything to say to the reviews, really, I'm lost for comments. It's odd. So I'll just say this: Heheh, glad you were all shocked and I haven't lost my touch! .

Ja ne


	38. Confessions

A/N: ALL HAIL DA POWAH OF DA SPORKS YO!

XP

It took a while, but eventually everything was explained well enough. There were parts that sparked a lot of interest, such as Daniel, Michael, and Shade's roll in everything, and then there was Chire'ni, who was rather silent when hearing about her own future self. Raven didn't like telling them about The Demon, and she even left out the part where Malorek had to kill her demon self. That was a little too personal to discuss and wasn't particularly relevant either.

Finally, though, questions had been answered about that, and it was time to consider the one thing that was on practically _everyone's_ mind: A vacation.

"We need it." Robin said flatly, everyone agreed, save Daniel, Shade, and Michael.

"Yeah, you do." Daniel said, "We, however, need to get back home, we got kidnapped at a rather inopportune time, though I won't go into detail. Still, thanks for letting us stay, see ya." He said, getting up. The two others nodded and followed his lead.

"Bye, and, thanks." Raven told them.

"Heh, twas nothing, no seriously. Agh, I'm getting a headache. Later!" He answered. Everyone bid them goodbye and they too were seen flying out the window, Michael being carried by the other two, back towards the city.

"I have a job to get back to, believe it or not." Chire'ni told them. "I've already missed one night with no explanations, my employers are not going to be happy." She said.

"Tell them the Teen Titans have invited you to the beach, and that you deserve some time off because you helped save the world, yo!" Cyborg told her. Chire'ni chuckled.

"I may do that." She said.

"Can I come too?" Terra, who was sitting next to a very nervous Beast Boy, asked sheepishly. Zacroma, who was on the _other_ side of Beast Boy, craned her neck around to give Terra an "I will smite you where you stand" look.

"Ah…sure." Robin said awkwardly, "We have an extra room." He murmured.

"Two." Malorek corrected, smirking.

"_One_. You're not relocating your living quarters to _my room_." Raven informed him.

"Awwwwww." He wined, causing both Chire'ni and Zacroma (in spite of her current 'Die B8888, Beast Boy is MINE!' train of thought) to start laughing.

"We'll talk more about it later, when things have settled down." Robin said.

"In that case, can I see you privately, Velduil?" Chire'ni asked, standing up. She gave Raven a look that said, all too plainly, it wasn't _she_ whom Raven needed to talk to.

Raven took a deep breath and nodded, getting up to follow her.

XD

Chire'ni had wrapped up Val'hilran's neck, where two puncture wounds still bled slightly, but the woman was only barely alive, Raven could sense it. She pulled the desk chair of Malorek's room up to the bed, Chire'ni had left and closed the door. After all, while Val'hilran was her aunt by blood, she and Avelona had had a far stronger relationship. For a moment, Raven just sat there, staring at the woman whose face was only now recognizable, who had, for so long, been her enemy. Then she took a deep breath and let it out.

"Val? Val, can you hear me? It's me." She said softly.

Eyes twitched, and opened slowly. They weren't slits like Judora's had been, they were shaped just like Chire'ni's, but they were still red, completely red. They'd always been red though, even though her sister had had blue, green-rimmed eyes, Val'hilran's eyes were completely red, though Raven couldn't quite remember why.

The drow looked at Raven blearily, recognition in her eyes, her expression became soft and she gave Raven a week smile, "Ah, Avalona," She whispered, "My, how long have I been asleep?" She asked, her voice croaky, yet still familiar.

"Over a thousand years." Raven answered.

"Really?" She chuckled, "I certainly feel it, then. And you, you don't look a day older. Tell me, is that handsome young dragon still enamored with you?" She asked.

"He proposed to me." Raven answered, showing her the ring.

Val'hilran's eyes widened, "Really? And you've accepted have you? Oh, Avelona, I'm so happy for you." She closed her eyes, smiling dreamily, "It's good that even someone as tormented as you can still find love. I remember feeling so jealous of your mother when she found Chire'ni's father. She loved him till the day he died, and he her. But I…" She sighed, and opened her eyes again. "I'm sure you've wondered why my eyes have always been red like this." She murmured, "And why I stayed with your mother, who was shunned by the rest of our clan for her ways.

"I was still a youth when it happened, I attended a school for Yathrin and was to become a priestess. A friend, and rival, of mine had suddenly appeared in class one day with red eyes, and we all knew what that meant. She'd summoned a demon, but the spell had gone wrong and the demon ended up possessing her, but it wasn't like that. She was sentient, she still talked and acted almost normally, except with an air of power and, perhaps, danger surrounding her. We soon found out that her power had increased drastically, that, rather than summoning a demon and making a mistake, she'd summoned the demon into her body on purpose, she was still in control, however. We saw that, and soon many of us, myself included, went to her in order to discover how she'd done it. She rounded us up, and then she 'tainted' us all.

"I know what a human tainting means, but this was different. These demons we drow summon are lesser demons, comparatively, the idea was to absorb these creatures so that they would increased our power drastically. However, she had tricked us, the demon in her fooled us into thinking that she was still sane, and she attempted to destroy us all during the process of tainting, herself included. I was the only one to survive, but I might as well have died.

"Ah the pain, the torment, I was in constant agony as I walked, as I spoke, I discovered that causing another pain relieved my own, so I began to torture slaves, but it wasn't enough for me. One day I nearly killed one of my sisters, and it was discovered just how unstable I really was. I was shunned, completely and utterly, beaten down, though I felt little physical pain, and tossed away. I was close to losing myself entirely to the demon within, and then your mother came to me. She found me, offered me her hand, took me to her fortress even though I myself had been one of those who'd oppressed her. She helped me to regain myself, and though the demon could not be exorcised, she taught me how to fight it, even to control it.

"Eventually I was able to gain back my standing in the clan, most of my sisters were wary of me still, but my mother saw my power and the control I had and accepted me. I tried to fight for Allira'shinade, but mother wouldn't hear of it.

"When the humans came to destroy my world, rather than stand with my clan and fight, I chose to help your mother and her charges escape. I abandoned my own mother as she had once abandoned me, but I still felt a cool resentment towards those who had destroyed us. This anger grew in me, it fed the demon inside of me, granting me more power as I was still in control, but not as much as I thought I was.

"When I found you, saw you possessed and tainted like I once was, you reminded me so much of myself, I brought you into the underground fortress we had built, I wanted to adopt you but, wisely in my opinion, Allira'shinade refused and took you in herself. Still, I stayed close to you, I loved you like my own daughter, but I could not let go of my hatred for the humans we were forced to deal with in getting supplies to the underground.

"And then the snake appeared, you'll remember when we were traveling abroad, your dragon following us all the while, though we pretended we didn't know he was." Val'hilran smiled dreamily in remembrance, but then it faded again as she continued, "I disappeared then, I'm sure you found my absence natural at first, as we often parted only to meet with each other again later, and then I imagine you began to look for me." She sighed, "I was such a fool, all that time…The snake came to me, told me it could give me even _more_ power, said I would be able to destroy the humans who killed my people. And I accepted its offer, but the price was very high. My original body had to be destroyed and then remade, the snake did all of that within the blink of an eye, and before I knew it I was Judora." Her face twisted in pain, "I lost almost complete control of myself, the demon inside me had merged with a part of the snake that had become my familiar, tainting me far more severely than I could ever have thought possible. I don't remember much of what happened, I just know that there was something, something horrible I did to you." She turned and looked at Raven with a pained expression on her face, "I was a fool, Avelona, all that time I thought it was the humans who destroyed my people, but it wasn't. The demon within me clouded my vision so that I couldn't see what was _truly_ happening. More and more of my kind were tainting themselves as I had done, without my knowledge I became a figure head, and soon there was an epidemic. I don't know all of what happened, history will probably say that an army of surface dwellers came down to lay siege to the drow, but the drow had already been destroyed from the inside by their own lust for power long before any surface army came."

Val'hilran let out a deep sigh and looked back at Raven, "I don't expect you to forgive me, I don't remember what I did, but I know it must have been tremendous." She closed her eyes, "I doubt that Lolth will accept me, but perhaps there is an odd sort of peace in utter oblivion." She said, Raven could hear her breathing becoming shallow and slow.

"I forgive you." She said swiftly, hoping that Val'hilran heard her before she died.

Raven sat back in her chair and stared out into space, she didn't move for a while.

XD

Chire'ni was leaning against the wall, a ways away from the door to Malchior's room. Strong, ebony arms crossed over an ample chest that was shown off by her armor, along with her graceful curves. A cascade of pure, snow-white hair fell down the shoulders and back of a face whose eyes were closed in deep thought, her elegantly long ears poking out of it rather cutely. She was hot, _very_ hot, different, yes, but that only made her seem all the more exotic. Cyborg took a deep breath and walked up to her.

"So, ah, is Raven—?" He asked, She looked up and nodded. "I'm kinda confused," he admitted, scratching his head, "Exactly who's this Val-whatever person? Is she a relative of yours or something? Is that how you know her?" he asked.

"Heh, I'm surprised the question didn't come up much sooner. Yes, Val'hilran is my mother's sister." Chire'ni let out a sigh, "We thought she was dead, we even had her body, puncture wounds in her neck. I thought it'd been Avelona, but now I knew, it was that snake." She shook her head, "But then, Val'hilran was never one to be completely trusted, one of the reasons mother wouldn't allow her to adopt Avelona herself like she wanted."

"Rrrrrright, so, ah, if she's _your_ aunt, then…"

"Then shouldn't I be in there talking to her?" Chire'ni finished, "No, frankly, because I never had much of a relationship with my aunt, not like how Avelona had. And in any case, her crimes as a Tainted were against Raven, not me." She explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Cyborg agreed. There was a small pause, in which Chire'ni was staring off into space with her blue, green-rimed eyes, and Cyborg couldn't help but stare at _her_.

Dang, he never knew Raven had such a hot sister…

_Dude!_ Cyborg exclaimed to himself mentally, _Where the heck did **that** come from! Snap out of it man, she's not even the same race as you are!_ He ordered himself.

But then, neither were Raven and Malorek.

_Bad idea, she use to be an enemy man!_

So did Malchior.

_She's scary, and she likes **spiders**!_

She's hot and could probably crush a bowling ball with her bear hands.

_Shut up!_

No.

Cyborg shook his head, he needed help. "So ah, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

"Mmm, I don't know." Chire'ni answered, considering, "Perhaps go back home, try to lead a normal life with the time I've been given." She said.

"Won't you at least come by to visit Raven?" Cyborg asked in slight surprise.

Chire'ni sighed, "I don't know," She said, running her fingers through her hair in thought, "I don't feel I deserve the forgiveness both Raven and her dragon have already shown me. What right do I have to a sister like her, after all? My entire life I shunned her and she only showed me love, but I was too blind to see it. I've lived my life with a spot of anger still etched deep into my soul, but now that this anger and hatred has left, I don't know how to live with myself anymore." She told him. Then she stopped, seeming to catch herself, and gave him a wry smile, "My apologies, you probably don't care much for listening to a woman's rambling." She said.

"Aw, heck, I don't mind." Cyborg said, putting a hand behind his head, "You sound like you need someone to talk to. I don't know much of what happened, but, you know, maybe it's better that way. Maybe you need someone who's outside all of this to talk to. And I may be a mere pathetic male but I can at least listen." He told her.

For a moment Chire'ni just stared at him, and then her lips broke into a grin and she started to chuckle.

Just then the door opened, and out came Raven, hood over her head with a rather subdued air. The two looked at her, "Hey Rae," Cyborg said, for lack of something better.

"I've burned the body." She told them, "I'll ask Zacroma to make an urn for the ashes." She said.

Chire'ni looked at Raven, and then let out a deep sigh, shaking her head, "I don't see how you can forgive her so easily, nor do I understand how you can forgive _me_ either." She said, "But then, you never were the type to hold grudges."

"In the end, it just doesn't seem important." Raven responded. "By the way," She then pulled out a small piece of folded paper from the space jewel on her belt and held it out to Chire'ni, "Your future self wrote this and told me to give it to you. Whatever it is, I promise I didn't read it. She seemed to think it was important." She said.

"Right," Chire'ni took the note with some trepidation. There was an awkward pause in which Cyborg felt it best to sneak away and let the two talk things out on their own. Chire'ni glanced back as he retreated around the corner. "His name is Cyborg, right?" She asked.

"Yeah." Raven answered, "Listen, Chire'ni, I…I'm not entirely sure about all of this, these emotions. I remember seeing you as Avelona, back when her demons had full control over her, I remember there was something about you that just drew me and I don't know what. I don't really know why Avelona wanted so badly for you to be family to her, but…well, we _were_ friends before it all happened. When we met in that bar, remember? You think, maybe, we could start back from there?" She asked.

"We could," Chire'ni considered, musing, "_Or_ we could skip all that and be sisters now." She suggested, "How does that sound?"

Raven smiled, "Sounds good to me." She said.

Chire'ni smirked, "Oh, and, by the way, don't think I can't see the ring on your finger. That illusion may work on your human friends, but my eyes are not so easily fooled." She said, causing Raven to flush as she snatched her left hand to better examine it. "Nice, very nice," She mused, "Appropriate too. But when are you going to tell everyone else?" She asked.

"When things settle down." Raven sighed. "We still have Terra to deal with, though if Zacroma has her way there'll be nothing left to deal with."

"I see, you'll have to explain this to me because I'm rather lost…"

XD

"ZACROMA!" Raven yelled, causing the entire tower to tremble. With her voice. Raven waited, her foot tapping angrilly as Zacroma walked in with an innocent look on her face.

"You bellowed?" She asked sweetly.

Raven glared at her and pointed at the ceiling, "Terra appears to have been chained to the ceiling with duct tape over her mouth. Now, who among us would have the power to, not only manipulate metal so well as to have the chains molded into the ceiling without messing with the electronics, and also to completely nullify Terra's ability to manipulate earth so that she would neither have had the ability to fight back, nor free herself or alert us of trouble with a small tremor?" She asked leeringly.

"Hmmmm, Malorek, maybe? He is a gray dragon after all." Zacroma answered pleasantly.

"What would Malorek have against Terra?" Raven asked.

"Maybe she tried to flirt with him, the dirty little slu—"

"ZACROMA!" Raven exclaimed.

"Oh _fine_." Zacroma pouted, levitating up and putting her hand up on the ceiling, calling all the chains to her blue gem, and leaving Terra to hit the ground face forward. Or she would have had Raven not been prepared to cushion her fall.

"Zacroma, don't you think you're going a little far—" Raven began, but then Terra ripped the duct tape from her mouth and interrupted.

"Beast Boy is mine, b8888!" Terra yelled, "I was here _first_, he liked me _first_, so back off!" Raven sighed.

"HA! You don't deserve Beast Boy, you betrayed the Titans to Slade! He wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole!" Zacroma came back.

"Oooooh, you're going to regret that!" Terra snarled.

"Ha! Says the girl who couldn't cause a tremor if her life depended on it! I could take your power away permanently if I wanted to!" Zacroma came back, causing Terra to pale. Raven groaned.

"I believe the children need a time out." Chire'ni said calmly, approaching the two girls and placing a hand on each shoulder. Both became very quiet and rather pale at the sight of her. Chire'ni held heir shoulders firmly and closed her eyes, "**Power of mana…**" She murmured, and the next thing Raven knew both Terra and Zacroma were 5-year-olds!

"AIEEEEE! HOW DID YOU DO THAT!" Zacroma demanded in a high pitched voice.

"Yeah, how _did_ you do that?" Raven asked, her eyes widened, "I didn't know you could shapechange others as well."

"Well, it requires a certain amount of concentration and effort, and there's also the fact that it's not permanent and will ware off, at the very most, by tonight, notice I only made them children and didn't attempt to turn them into driders, which would undoubtedly have disturbed them quite a lot." She answered, sounding proud of herself.

"I'm glad you didn't." Zacroma said, cringing. Terra appeared too frightened and shocked to even speak.

"How did you get their clothes to shrink as well?" Raven asked.

"Lots and lots of practice accompanied by many decades of boredom." Chire'ni answered.

"I see." Raven mused.

"What's with all the yell—ing?" Cyborg stopped abruptly and stared at the chibified teens. He pointed, "_Huh_?"

"Waaaaa, Cyborg! Chire'ni turned me into a kid!" Zacroma wined, running over to him.

"What am I suppose to do about it!" Cyborg exclaimed, Chire'ni just laughed while Raven sighed, exasperated.

"This is just too weird." Terra moaned, "First demons, darkangels, and now this!" She exclaimed.

"So leave!" Zacroma said, spinning around, and then she gave Terra an evil smirk, "Before I decide to tell you _why_ I'm able to nullify your power!" She said, Terra's eyes widened and she swallowed hard.

"Zacroma." Raven sighed in exasperation. _Something_ must have transpired between the two girls, something that definitely revolved around their individual claims over Beast Boy, but, Raven imagined, Terra may very well have indirectly touched a nerve of Zacroma's, and the half-angel was neither going to explain what that nerve was, nor forgive Terra for her ignorance. For Raven seriously doubted Terra would have purposely said something to really hurt Zacroma, no matter how much of a feud they were having over Beast Boy. "Okay, I'm just not going to get involved in this." She grumbled, deciding that now would be a good time to leave the room and get something to eat.

"Pssst, Raven," a voice whispered, Raven looked around the hall to see Beast Boy, who'd apparently been a fly or something, come out from one of the shadows, looking around warily, "Do you know where Zacroma and Terra are by any chance?" He asked.

"They're currently in one of the training rooms. Beast Boy you can't let this go on. I'm really surprised at Zacroma's behavior towards Terra, and it has to stop before things get serious." Raven told him sternly.

Beast Boy sighed miserably, "I know, I know, Terra said something to Zacroma that…well, I know Terra didn't mean it the way Zacroma took it, but she's not listening to a word I say! I'd better not repeat it, but I can't seem to understand why Zacroma's so upset. What am I suppose to do?" He asked. "I love them both, yes, but Terra…more like a sister, to be honest. So I don't want to hurt her feelings." He explained.

"Feelings are going to be hurt, Beast Boy, Zacroma's if you wait for too long. You have to talk to Terra and explain the circumstances to her. If she and Zacroma can't patch things up, I'm afraid Terra may have to leave." Raven told him. Beast Boy's shoulders drooped and he sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." He muttered, though he didn't sound very keen on the idea, understandably.

"The best thing is just to say it and get it over with." Raven told him.

"Right, well, I think I'll wait a bit longer just to think about how I'm going to say this…" Beast Boy muttered, "You think I should talk to Malorek?" He asked.

"He'll just tell you the same thing I did." Raven answered.

Beast Boy drooped slightly, "Right, okay, fine." He muttered, and he morphed himself back into a fly, buzzing on down the hall. Whether he was going to find the two girls, or to find another place to hide, she wasn't sure.

Raven entered the kitchen, finding Robin was also there, shuffling through the refrigerator for something to eat as well. "We need to get some more groceries." He muttered, not even glancing up to see who'd walked in.

"Why? We still have plenty of Raisin Bran." Raven answered, opening the cabinets to find a few boxes still there.

"You can't eat that stuff for lunch and dinner every day though." Robin muttered.

"Yeah, you need to get some sheep in your diet. It's good for the heart after all." Malorek said, walking into the kitchen.

'Sheep?' both Raven and Robin mouthed wordlessly. "Ah, Malchi-er-Malorek, sorry, I don't think that many stores stock sheep meat." Robin said.

"Oh that's okay, just direct me to the nearest farm, I promise to be on tomorrow's headline." Malorek said, his eyes twinkling with a grin.

Robin snorted and started laughing while Raven just sweatdropped and sighed. "By the way Robin, I think Starfire's looking for you, something about biki—whatever, shopping for the vacation you promised." Malorek said.

Robin's eyes widened while Raven raised an eyebrow, "Bikini shopping? She wants to go _bikini_ shopping? What happened to her old set?" Raven asked irritably.

"Well, you know Starfire…" Robin said, his face rather red as he walked past Malorek to see what she wanted.

"What's 'bikini shopping'?" Malorek asked, "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term."

"It's the preppy female version of swimsuit shopping." Raven answered with a sweatdrop. "Swimsuits are clothes made especially for swimming, you'll probably need a male set anyway, so I'm afraid we _will_ have to go shopping." She said.

"Ah, I see," Malorek mused, and then he looked at Raven through his cascade of silver hair, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "And, exactly, how much clothing do these swimsuits require?" he asked in a would-be casual voice.

"Not much less than my leotard." Raven answered flatly, eyebrow twitching.

"Awwwwww." He wined, coming over to pull Raven in an embrace with her back up against him.

"Alright now _Malchior_, behave." She ordered, her hands on his to make sure they didn't do anything untoward.

"Hey, is it _my_ fault you're the most beautiful woman in the world?" He asked, nibbling on her ear.

"Yes, because I'm _not_ the most beautiful woman in the world." She answered. "It's all a matter of opinion."

"You are," Malorek insisted holding her close and nuzzling her neck, "Humans just don't have very good taste. Though I suppose I should be grateful, if they _did_ know what true beauty looked like I would be hard pressed to fight the entire male population for you. Not that I wouldn't welcome the challenge, it'd just get annoying after a while." He murmured.

"Mmm, you are a sweet-talker aren't you?" Raven muttered, but she felt herself melting into his embrace all the same.

"Yes, but only for the woman I love." He whispered as she craned her neck around and he bent over to meet her lips.

He had to be the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth, but his loyalty to her was almost unbelievable. She loved him so much, she couldn't be happier than she was now. Judora was gone, the worst of their surprises had been dominated, she was free of her father, and they were engaged. What more could she possibly ask for save a little more privacy?

But still, there was something in the back of her mind, something that was beginning to make itself known during their time of peace, something that had been bothering her for a time but she'd simply tried to ignore it.

Would their love be allowed?

XP

A/N: DON'T WORRY! That last statement will be explained in the next chapter, if you're confused. Some of you probably _aren't_, but there you go. Next chapter should be the last one, SO DON'T LEAVE YET! Also, I've decided that if I _do_ do a trilogy of some sort, it will only, _only_ be a collection of shorts. I probably won't be writing out their vacation in the ending, so I might do that for one of the shorts. Also thinking about doing interviews, bloopers, and pairing one-shots You know, Zacroma/Beast Boy, Robin/Starfire, Raven/Malorek, You-know-who/you-know-who, Judora/Slade (JUST KIDDING! Lol), this is mostly because doing another entire, 'season' I guess, would just be kinda monotonous. I mean, how much_ worse_ can a bad-guy get than a Fallen Angel, without bringing in Satan himself! Also, I'm out of material. There'd be very little in the infamous surprises department, and there's only so many times I can twist everything around and say, 'oops! Nope, that's not how it was, _this_ is how it _really_ was!', before I start stretching things. I'm glad that so many people like my stories, but any more after this will just be random stuff, shorties, and one-shots bunched into a single 'fanfic'. (Though I'm thinking about putting the vacation in its own fic, if only so I can use, Spell V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N as the title. You like? Or am I stretching the wordplay a bit? .) I'm also thinking about just doing other Mal/Rae/Ror one-shot fanfics or shorties that have nothing to do with Spellbinder, just to do something new. So, never fear! It is most likely I won't stop writing for _too_ long.

Trenin: Really? You think so? I didn't overdo it or anything like that? AWESOME! I was hoping Blackfire wouldn't come off very OOC, I may have taken liberties with her speech though, she _is_ suppose to talk a bit like Starfire, . oh well.

Thermopolis: Read the first paragraph of the A/N for answer.

FallenDarkAngel99: AUGH! NO EVIL FLUFFIES PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THE EVIL FLUFFIES! I'M WRITING I'M WRITING!

Lea Cat: I will not doubt your words, many have died from e-mail overload, LOOK I'M UPDATING! HAVE MERCY!

Evilsangel: They're _embarrassing_, how would it look, after all, if someone I knew personally read my fanfic and told my _parents_? _HUH_! And once my _dad_ actually went and read one of my fanfics himself, it was only Between Worlds, but _still_! Aside from that, I just won't. Doesn't that suck:P

Well, that's all I had to say, ja ne!


	39. Rights of Freedom

A/N: FINISHED! FINALLY FINISHED! (Does happy dance)

XP

Things were finally starting to settle down. Terra had left, to no one's surprise and Zacroma's pleasure, right after Beast Boy set her aside to talk to, she didn't look at all happy, and was, understandably, a little hurt. That left a bad taste in most of the Titans' mouths, and Beast Boy, especially, felt a bit guilty. Still, no one had kicked her out, Robin had offered to let her join if she and Zacroma could get along, but that just wasn't going to happen. Zacroma had only become more and more foul towards Terra, and Terra towards her, and Raven knew that it went far deeper than a simple matter over Beast Boy, at least with Zacroma it did. Terra probably felt Zacroma was usually such a, well, a b8888, and felt that she didn't deserve Beast Boy any more than Terra.

And then there was the matter of Chire'ni to consider.

"_Pleeeeeease_!" to everyone's surprise, it was _Zacroma_ who'd started begging, "It'd be so cool to have you as an ally! I mean, I know you're not a teen, definitely, but wouldn't you prefer to get paid to beat up the bad guys rather than to keep gambler's in line? You wouldn't have to stay in a human form all the time! I mean, I know you'll have less space to spread yourself out in, but maybe Cyborg and Beast Boy would be willing to clean up the basement for you and your spiders!" She said.

Chire'ni gave Zacroma a rather surprised look, "I thought you were afraid of me." She commented.

"Well, I am, but you're so cool! I mean, you could probably just _look_ at the bad guys the wrong way and they'll be begging to go to jail just to put metal bars between them and you!" She answered happily.

"We _could_ fix up the basement if you really wanted to use it as your bedroom." Cyborg came in, considering, "Most of the stuff in there's junk anyway." He said airily.

"Junk? What do you mean 'Junk', our entire collection of belly button lint is—" Beast Boy began, but Cyborg grabbed him, slapping his hand over his mouth and grinning innocently at Chire'ni. Was it Raven's imagination, or was there a blush on his cheeks?

Chire'ni raised any eyebrow and smirked, sniggering, "You collect belly button lint?" She asked, her smirk turning into a grin, "Would you like some of mine, then?" she asked, moving forward and presenting her exposed navel to Cyborg with a mischievous glint in her eye. Cyborg stared, now there was no mistaking the red on his face, "Well? Go ahead, take it. There should at least be some." She told him casually, hands on hips.

"Uh, er, that is…I ah…" Cyborg fumbled articulately.

"Okay, Chire'ni? I know how much you like to break boys, but we kind of need Cyborg's brain _in tact_. He _is_ our electronics expert." Raven said, appearing next to Cyborg with an almost amused leer in her eyes.

Chire'ni sniggered, "Right, well, your offer _is_ rather tempting. And yes, I _would_ like the basement if you're willing to go to the trouble of finding another place for your…collection. And you're right," She turned to Zacroma, "It _would_ be more fun to actually beat the living crap out of people without worrying about legal rights for a change." She said.

"So you'll stay?" Robin asked brightly.

Chire'ni considered a moment, and then nodded, "Yes, since you asked me so nicely, I will stay." She answered.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, coming over to hug a _very_ surprised Chire'ni, "Welcome to the Teen Titans, new friend Chire'ni! Would you, then, like to come to the malls of shopping with us to purchase very revealing swim-ware with us for our vacation?" She asked hopefully.

"'Very revealing swim-ware'?" Malorek quoted, and then he turned to Raven with a familiar glint in his eye. Raven leered back at him.

"In your dreams." She muttered.

"Well, most of my dreams involve you rather well clothed, Love, to be honest." He chuckled, bringing his arms around her casually, "A long, beautiful white dress and a collaboration of flowers in your hand, actually." Raven smacked her face with her hand just as Zacroma instantly pirked up.

"EEEEEEE!" She squealed.

"Why do you have to say things like that in front of her?" Raven asked through clenched teeth. Chire'ni burst out laughing.

"Well, you know, if your dream ever comes true…CAN I BE A BRIDE'S MAID PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!" Zacroma exclaimed, jumping up and down. Everyone just stared at her.

"Um, sure." Malorek said shiftily.

"YAY!" Zacroma squalled.

"Should you tell them or should I?" Malorek asked quietly into Raven's ear.

"I'll do it." Raven muttered, just as the conversation was about to return to Starfire and her getting Chire'ni to go shopping, she said, "By the way, we're engaged." As though she were mentioning something offhand about the weather.

"Yeah I was expecting tha-wait WHAT!" Cyborg exclaimed, rounding on the pair of them, "Already?" He demanded, causing everyone else's attention to snap to what Raven had just said as well.

"AIEEEEEEE!" Zacroma almost screamed with glee.

"How wonderful! I am overjoyed for the both of you!" Starfire exclaimed in ecstasy.

"Dude, you're only 16! What the heck?" Beast Boy yelled.

"I didn't say we were getting married_ now_, just that we would someday, it doesn't have to be soon, sheesh!" Raven exclaimed in a voice that suggested she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"When did he propose? When did you propose! Do you have a ring! OOOOOOOH let me see!" Zacroma cried, jumping up and down happily.

Raven sighed and unwound the small illusion she'd put over the ring, showing it to Zacroma, who positively beamed at it. Malorek looked as though he were enjoying this.

"I want to see!" Starfire cried, moving in and almost pushing Zacroma to the side. Chire'ni was laughing.

"Is that a _diamond_!" Zacroma exclaimed in wonder.

"I shaped it myself." Malorek answered proudly. "I had it cast specially by a master dwarf."

"OMIGOSH THAT IS SO ROMANTIC!" The two girls squealed giddily.

Yes, it _had_ been very romantic, in _private_. Having all of this publicized made the whole thing seem a bit sappy, causing Raven to sweatdrop and pray to get out of this swiftly. "Um…right." Malorek said, obviously feeling that the girls were being a little weird himself.

"Dude, how did we _miss_ that?" Beast Boy asked, curiosity getting the better of him and forcing him to look himself.

"I was hiding it so no one would notice before I wanted to tell you." Raven answered plainly.

"Wise move." Cyborg muttered, though he needn't have bothered. The two girls were too out of it to hear him. "So, ah, Malorek, could I have a word?" he asked oh so subtly.

Raven just gave him this look, "Cyborg—" She began, but Malorek cut her off.

"No, it's okay." Malorek said, moving his hands to her shoulders and giving her a kiss on the cheek through the cloth of his scarf. Then he nodded to Cyborg and followed him into another room, Raven, of course, fuming slightly. Of all the times to act 'big brother', grumble, grumble.

Cyborg turned to face Malorek, "Now, first off I know that you know what I'm about to say. So we'll cut to the chase, I care for Raven, and if you hurt her in any way, shape, or form—"

"I swear that I will stab myself in the heart with a rusted blade and save you the trouble." Malorek finished for him. "Now, I believe, you know that I'm going to defend myself, saying that I love Raven with all my heart and soul and that I'd never do anything to purposely harm her ever again. So let's assume I made the obligatory speech, explaining to you how dragons are _strictly_ monogamous and how it simply is not in my nature to look at other women while in love, that Judora used a powerful mind-bending curse on me to make a part of me think I was in love with her, and then end by telling you that I'm going to marry Raven whether you like it or not. That all having been said, let's assume this conversation is now over, and I will now start a new conversation by asking why you _really_ wanted to talk to me."

"Yeah, nice, am I really that obvious?" Cyborg asked nervously.

"At first, no, but now you are. So, is this about the drow woman?" Malorek asked.

Cyborg blushed, telling him he was right, "Ah, yeah…um…"

"So, what _exactly_ are you wanting from me? You do realize that I've had absolutely no past experiences with the drow, correct?"

"Dangit! Well, still, you probably understand women, in general, better than anyone else here, who is male, right?" Cyborg asked.

"To be honest, I sincerely hope so." Malorek answered quite frankly.

"_Ha, ha, ha_." Cyborg muttered leeringly, "Right, seriously man, do you think she was coming on to me, or was she being…y'know, drow?" He asked.

Malorek just gave him an 'how can you be this stupid?' look, "Okay, Cyborg, this is what you heard: 'Would you like to take some of my belly button lint for your collection?' Now, I may be reading between the lines a bit here, but, considering what I've heard of drow and the fact that they usually don't like being touched unless it's sensual, this is what I believe she _meant_: 'Stick your tongue in my mouth.' Now, do I believe she's in love with you? Absolutely not. Do I believe she's _attracted_ to you? _Yes_. Any more stupid questions?" He asked.

Cyborg gave him a look, in spite of the fact that he was trying, and failing, not to seem as though Malorek's words had encouraged him a great deal, "Ha, ha, ha, you know not all of us guys are as confident as you are." He grumbled.

"You know, Chire'ni is only going to find your insecurity 'cute'." Malorek told him.

"You think?" Cyborg asked, perking up suddenly.

"Yes, it'll give her a collar to put her nice little leash upon, she'll find that _incredibly_ adorable." Malorek answered. Cyborg paused for a moment, not quite understanding what Malorek had just implied.

"Oh _very funny_." He muttered darkly.

"Ha, ha, you think I'm joking don't you?" Malorek said smugly, "Beware, drow females are famous for being _very_ dominant, don't be surprised if she actually _does_ try to put a leash around you. She may have lived with humans for over a thousand years, but one can't just ignore one's inborn nature."

"A thousand—dang, forgot how old she was." Cyborg said, his face falling.

"Another tip: Never, _ever_ mention her age _again_, whether or not you think she will be able to hear you or will find out. _She_ makes the age jokes, _not_ you. Understand?" Malorek instructed.

"Uh…Right, never mention age…" Cyborg said, pulling out a pad and pencil to write that down, "What else can you tell me?" He asked.

"Never refer to her as 'yours', not sure if she, personally, will mind, but I do know that the typical drow female would be _quite_ offended, far more than your average human female." Malorek answered, considering. "If someone tries to move in on her, say, instead, that she 'already _has_ a male, thank you'. For example. Though you'll want to wait until the two of you actually _are_ a couple for that. Still. Also, never comment if she has a bad hair day, pretend her hair doesn't exist. Do _not_, I repeat, do _not_ stare overlong at her chest, her navel, or any part of her body that is not the face, unless of course she _expects_ you to stare and has made it vary clear that you _can_. Pay more attention to the tone of voice she uses when she says things rather than what she actually says. It will take a lot of practice, but if you listen carefully enough you will be able to differentiate between the times when they mean what they say, when they mean something quite a bit different, and when they mean something that's the complete _opposite_ of what they say. Also, you might want to…" He continued, Cyborg scribbling everything down as fast as he possibly could.

XD

"What did he say?" Raven inquired the moment Malorek had returned to her side, the living room had settled down, Zacroma and Beast Boy were currently playing video games, Chire'ni had gone back to her house, explaining that, while she was staying, there were things she had to take care of, like quitting her job, selling her house, and getting everything together. Most of her spiders preferred the wilderness around her house, so she would be setting them free. Zerr, of course, would stay with her, as well as a number of her other favorites. A particularly large black widow named Otta, another tarantula named Cor, who was Zerr's mate, and a brown recluse by the name of Zalv. That was mostly it, though, along with all her personal possessions. Raven was currently sitting on the couch reading, and Robin and Starfire were off…probably making out, again.

Malorek shrugged of-handedly, Cyborg had gone to start on Chire'ni's room, so he wasn't with Malorek when he entered. "That if I ever hurt you I would be on the receiving end of his empowered blaster." He answered.

"Took long enough." She grumbled, she felt a bit embarrassed at the fact that Cyborg felt the need to go 'Big brother' on her, _now_ of all times. Still, it was kind of sweet.

"Ah, well, I clamed I loved you more than he ever would, and he got defensive for some reason so we argued a bit. He seems satisfied though." Malorek told her, slipping down next to her, one arm going around her waist and the other up to her neck so he could pull down her collar and kiss it.

"Must we do this in public?" Raven said quietly through clenched teeth.

"Raven, those two couldn't be paying less attention to the rest of the world unless they started making out." Malorek murmured in her ear, his breath hot and sensual as he began to nibble it.

He was right, there seemed to be a lot of wordless mush going on with Zacroma and Beast Boy, Raven could practically see the hearts floating up above their heads as they played their game without really trying to take the other down.

"That being said." He whispered softly, slipping the book out of her hands and pushing her down to lie across the vacant couch, seeing as Zacroma and Beast Boy were sitting on the floor _very_ close to each other. His lips connected with hers, moving in slowly at first, and then deeper, more hated with every second. Common sense and worry about the fact that they were, technically, still in public seemed to slip from Raven's mind like water as she felt herself becoming entranced. It was as though she were being spellbound all over again.

"Dude! Get a room, you're making me look bad!" Malorek looked up and smirked at Beast Boy.

"Well then, what are you going to do about that?" He asked mischievously.

It was, however, _Zacroma_ who picked up Beast Boy, a very interesting sight, and carried _him_ out the room. "Eep!" Beast Boy exclaimed before the door was shut.

"Well, that certainly is convenient." Malorek commented to Raven's slightly red face. "Where were we?" He asked, giving her a _very_ sexy smile that only made her roll her eyes before he bent back down to her lips.

XD

"I'm, really, really sorry." Raven told Malorek sincerely, Malorek bit his bottom lip, trying his best not to cringe too much, "I had no idea they'd make you come along just because I mentioned you didn't have any swimming trunks." She said.

"It's not so bad, Love, except that there is a great deal of noise, and the many scents are practically driving me crazy in spite of the spell you put over my nose." He told her. As Zacroma had forced Malorek to wear one of Malchior's 'Bad Boy' shirts, there was no scarf to shield his nose and they had to make due with a spell. His eyes and hair sort of made the whole 'discard the armor' thing rather pointless, as he was still getting stares, and Raven would have been stared at anyway because of the chain burns all over her body, which were beginning to look more like she'd gotten tanned in those places somehow. The two were walking hand-in-hand behind Zacroma, Starfire, and Chire'ni, currently re-donning the appearance of Shenira.

Raven sighed, "Sorry." She said again as they entered a store that seemed to specialize mostly in bathing suites.

The two of them sort of hovered while Zacroma and Starfire practically went wild, Chire'ni chuckling after them and looking for her own suit at much slower pace. Raven couldn't help but notice she was looking mostly through the skimpy suits, which was slightly curious. Chire'ni was confident about herself and, obviously, her body, but she wasn't sluty, why would she want to show off, exactly?

Raven shook her head and decided to ignore it for now, thinking to get Malorek a swimsuit first, but then Zacroma rushed over with two hangers in her hand, grinning at Raven as she displayed them for approval, whish she _had_ to know she was _not_ getting. The top was wide and looked to cover a good deal of the chest, but it was strapless, black, and gathered in the middle with a silver ring that would show off that little bit of space there. The bottom, as well, appeared to cover everything, but it was rather low, and was bound on each hip with the same silver ring. Raven glared.

"No." She said flatly.

"Oh Raven, that is just so cute! Thinking you have a choice in the matter!" Zacroma exclaimed cheerfully.

"Ah, pardon my asking but how exactly is that worn? And where's the rest of it?" Malorek asked.

Zacroma let out an evil laugh that sent shivers up Raven's spine, "Come on Raven, Malorek wants to see how one wears this!" Zacroma said.

"I'm not—ack!" Raven cried out as Zacroma snatched her arm and practically drug her to the changing rooms, where she stuffed Raven and the swimsuit in.

"You're not coming out unless you're in that bathing suite!" Zacroma told her.

"Doesn't she need the rest of it?" Raven heard Malorek ask, causing her face to flush.

"She has the rest of it. Don't worry, you'll see how these bathing suits work as soon as she puts it on." Zacroma answered, her voice malicious.

Raven stared at herself in the mirror, holding the bathing suite in her hands and fighting with herself. Not surprisingly, Dark Raven appeared on the other side of the mirror and was smirking at the swimsuit. **Oh, come on, doesn't he deserve a little treat once and a while?** She asked teasingly. **Besides, why so shy still? It's not like he hasn't already seen everything, come on, you know he'll love it.**

Raven let out a small groan, but began to remove the clothes that Zacroma had convinced her to don for the mall. The next thing she knew she had the skimpy two-peace on, the burn marks all over her body were completely visible now, but rather than make her look ugly, they seemed to add to her appearance somewhat. She'd decided to like them, and so she did.

"Is it on yet?" Zacroma asked impatiently.

"_Yes_." Raven sighed in defeat.

"Yay! Come out come out come out!" She yelled, and Raven reluctantly opened the door. "EEEEEEE! I _knew_ that would look good on you!" Zacroma exclaimed proudly. "Malorek thinks so too." She said, sniggering.

Malorek's eyes were almost bulging, his jaw dropped. For a moment he just stood there, that comical but slightly embarrassing expression on his face, and then he was next to Raven, arms around her shoulders and nuzzling her neck. "You know that 'swimsuit' looks absolutely stunning on you, I do believe you should purchase it! Please, please, please, please?" He almost begged. Raven sweatdropped, it was pathetic, but it was so cute at the same time. Raven let out a groan as she just _knew_ she was going to say yes. Dark Raven was demanding it almost as much as Malorek's 'please's and pecks on the neck.

Chire'ni came out of the next stall, a _very_ flattering and revealing bakini showing off much of her chocolate skin. Two boys happened to glance their way and stopped abruptly. It didn't help that Chire'ni was posing in a very, 'I'm hot and I know it' way.

Then Starfire came out with a purple bikini that had small green flower decorations on it. She immediately squealed over Raven's swimsuit and complimented Chire'ni on hers. Then Zacroma went to try on swimsuits.

Raven was the only one who bought the first swimsuit she tried on without trying on any others first, even Malorek was forced back into the changing room with another set of swim trunks. Eventually Chire'ni found the _perfect_ bathing suite, one with a halter design, black, with a red spider on the chest, and the front of the bottoms. Raven was fairly sure that, at first glance, that bathing suite would _not_ have fit her, but it seemed to have been altered as Chire'ni was in no way going to give up such a perfect design. Still, the halter didn't expose very much of her chest, which was a good thing until Chire'ni said she was probably going to remove all the red on the front so that, rather than a red spider, it was a skin-colored spider. Raven sighed.

Starfire ended up finally getting the first one she'd found, Zacroma's was a tie-dye bakini with practically _every_ color on it, and Malorek had a pair of black swim trunks with a red Chinese dragon on it that he kept having to be assured that, yes, this _was_ a dragon, in spite of the fact that it just looked like a long snake with limbs and a mustache.

Afterwards they were allowed to split up, Zacroma wanted to get her hair dyed and Starfire was thinking of putting pink streaks in hers. Chire'ni was just going to browse for a while before heading back to the tower, so Raven and Malorek headed for the bookstore.

XD

Much to Beast Boy's annoyance, Cyborg burned their lint collection and tossed the ashes into the trash, in fact he did the same to a lot of their…collections. Collections that were all stored in the basement because Robin would have their heads if he saw them anywhere else. The rest was mostly spare parts that he'd yet to find a use for, he moved them into his already cramped workshop closet, and then had several robots come in to clean the place up. It wasn't a whole lot bigger than their usual bedrooms, though their bedrooms were typically very large but usual standards, so he hoped Chire'ni would find it big enough for her and her spiders.

Now all that was left was furniture, most of which Chire'ni undoubtedly had in abundance in her own house, and though there was a rather large storage closet in the basement, Cyborg wasn't sure what they were going to do with the rest of her personal belongings. Maybe Raven could come up with something. He went to go find her.

"Hey, Zee? Do you know—" Cyborg began, but he stopped abruptly, realizing that Zacroma wasn't the _only_ one in the living room. She was currently in a lip-lock with Beast Boy, neither of which took any notice whatsoever of his presence. "Uh…" He stepped back and went, instead, to the kitchen. "Hey Robin do you—" Only to find that they, as well, happened to be glued to each other on their lips. "Nevermind." He muttered, stepping away.

Screw that, he'd just go to her room, she was either in there, on the roof, or in the training room, the usual places.

He should have seen it coming, he really should have, but he opened her door anyway, "Hey Raven? I was wondering if you could—" He began, and then stopped abruptly at the sight of Raven and Malorek currently making out on her bed.

"_Excuse me_, getting fresh with my fiancé here, thank you!" Malorek snapped, using magic to slam the door in Cybrog's face.

"What tha—exactly where did you hear that term?" Cyborg heard Raven demand as he inched away from the door.

There was a slight chuckle coming from down the hall, "There seems to be a lot of kissing going on, doesn't there?" Chire'ni asked.

"_Yeah_." Cyborg muttered irritably, "It's getting to where you can't find someone to talk to without interrupting a tongue wrestling session!" He complained.

She sniggered, "Feeling left out?" She asked teasingly.

"Uh, no." He answered, a little too swiftly. _Dang, I'm such a liar._ He told himself. "Listen, I've got your room mostly set up, do you want to check it out? I was going to ask Raven if she would be able to make something that'd hold all of your things because it's definitely not as big as a house and might get a little cramped." He said.

_He is so cute when he lies._ Chire'ni thought, "That's fine, most of my belongings that would take up space are body building machines, and those, I'm sure, will be able to fit quite well in the training rooms. I will need to keep my refrigerator, I have a few…questionable items that I'm sure you'd rather not have to look at every time you want to get some milk, but mostly, I'm fairly sure I'll be able to manage." She told him.

"I don't want to know. Alright this way, the easiest way to get there is to take the elevator, though you probably didn't know we had one due to the fact that we almost always use the stairs. There's nothing wrong with it, except that sometimes the stairs are faster depending on where you want to go." He explained conversationally, stepping inside the sliding doors and waiting for Chire'ni to get in as well before pressing the button.

It took a few moments, but eventually they came to the basement floor, a small hall with the stairs headed upwards at the end, and a door in front of them that lead down into the actual basement area.

"It's kind of dim, but I'll assume you prefer the dark." Cyborg said, walking down the small flight of stairs to the floor. "Over here's a fairly large storage closet, probably not fit for anything but boxes, though it's usually fairly cold due to the lack of airflow, so you're spiders may like it, I still need to put some carpet in it and, what tha—" His eyes widened as the light suddenly turned themselves _off_, leaving the place pitch black, seeing as the door had been closed as well.

"Hmmm, it seems I've turned off the lights." Chire'ni said casually.

"Um, _why_?" Cyborg asked, sweating slightly as he turned around, even his robotic eye was having a hard time seeing with no light whatsoever to use. He did, however, see a pair of glowing red eyes that, he deduced, were Chire'ni's. "Can drow see in the dark?" He asked curiously, hoping that she couldn't see the heat rising to his cheeks.

"Inferred vision as well as a tendency to see with our ears when our vision is obscured. So I can see even if I close my eyes." She told him, and she did just that, removing all indication of where her presence was.

"Um…So…I'll just, er, go get that carpet…" Cyborg suggested.

"Heheheh, you're so cute." Chire'ni chuckled, Cyborg only had a glimpse of her glowing red eyes before she lunged, actually managing to knock him off his feet and hit the ground.

XD

"Hey Cyborg? Are you down there?" Malorek called, flipping on the lights to the basement, "We're ordering pizza so if you—" He stopped abruptly at the sight that greeted him.

"_Excuse me_," Chire'ni hissed, raising her head from Cyborg's to glare at him, "Getting fresh with my new pet, thank you!" She told him, throwing his own words back in his face.

Cyborg grinned in a dreamy fashion, "Pet? What kind of pet am I?" He asked.

"Mmmm," Chire'ni considered, "A puppy, I think." She cooed.

Malorek closed the door then and shut his eyes for a moment, then he opened them back up and smirked evilly to himself, reopening the door. He just had to, it was too perfect, too good an opportunity to resist, "Ooooooo, I'm telling Raven!" He called in the voice of a kid who's about to get their sibling in trouble, and then he ran for it.

"What the, OH NO YOU DON'T!" Chire'ni cried after him. Malorek laughed as he ran up the stairs, knowing full and well that Chire'ni was now after him.

"Raven, Raven! Cyborg's making out with your sister!" Malorek called as he passed Raven's reading place in the living room. She, Beast Boy, Zacroma, and Robin all shot to attention.

"Say WHAT!" Raven exclaimed, just as Chire'ni seemed to appear out of nowhere and attack Malorek. She threw him to the ground, then sat on him, bending his legs back _quite_ far in a wrestling move. She seemed too fast for him to react, causing him to let out a small exclamation of pain.

"Augh! Legs are not supposed to bend that way!" He cried.

"No, they're not suppose to bend _this_ way either! Nor is one's arm for that matter." Chire'ni hissed, and, right in front of everyone, she pulled one of Malorek's arms back behind him, and forced it to meet the opposite leg. They heard the sickening breaking of bones as she twisted leg and arm together, then pulled the other two limbs up in the same fashion. She was so fast, as though she did this rather often, that Malorek was no less than a human/dragon _knot_ before they knew it.

"DON'T YOU THINK THIS IS A LITTLE EXTREME?" Malorek yelled out in pain, though he was certainly not in as much pain as he would have been had he been human.

"Reminds me of what happened to _me_ when we caught Raven and Rorek kissing on video." Beast Boy mused, flinching, just as Cyborg came in, panting slightly flushed. His jaw dropped at the sight of Malorek, and Chire'ni standing over him whipping her hands together proudly.

"It would be, if it didn't take so much to put you in pain." Chire'ni told Malorek, stepping on the knot of limbs which were all turning disgusting colors of black and blue, "A word to the wise, dragon, meddle ye not in the affairs of drow, for our tempers are short and we like to break things." She said chuckling.

"Dude, YOU AND CHIRE'NI?" Beast Boy suddenly yelled at Cyborg, whose face flushed red, "What the heck?"

"Ah…" Cyborg muttered, apparently rather surprised as well.

"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed happily, "We all have boyfriends and girlfriends! It is perfect!" She said.

"A little _too_ perfect," Zacroma said to Robin, "I'm kind of scared." She admitted.

"I am too." He answered.

"What's wrong?" Chire'ni asked smirking as she came over to Cyborg, "Puppy and I were feeling a little left out, and he's so cute." She purred, stroking his cheek with her finger, which caused Cyborg to practically melt on the spot.

"…Puppy? She calls you, '_Puppy_'?" Beast Boy asked slowly, as Raven began to fix Malorek, whose face was turning purple as well. He then let out a huge roar of laughter, going on and on until Chire'ni stepped up to him, looming over him with her eyes switching to inferred vision so that they would appear to glow red. She made for a very intimidating figure, and Beast Boy stopped laughing abruptly.

"_I_ think it's absolutely adorable, and _masculine_," She added with a small smirk, "Don't you agree?" She asked. Beast Boy put on a nervous smile and nodded vigorously, "Gooood." She cooed.

_I can't believe this_. Raven thought to herself, "I'm going to meditate." She told them all after healing Malorek's body. And then she fazed up to the roof, deciding that she'd rather pretend that did _not_ happen, though it didn't surprise her, come to think of it. Chire'ni was probably naturally more attracted to Cyborg because of his dark skin, also Cyborg in general. It didn't seem plausible that she would like him at first, but, Raven thought back to the first conversation she'd had with Chire'ni. She'd gotten the impression that she didn't want a romance so much as she wanted someone she could talk to, and, apparently, make out with at the same time.

Ugh, still, she didn't want to think too much about it. Cyborg was like her brother, and Chire'ni her sister by oath, this didn't make them like brother and sister to each other, but still…

Raven crossed her legs in the air and rose herself fairly high, letting the winds whip her cape back behind her. She then allowed her hair to release itself from her scalp, and it began to move about her. It felt good, actually, as though it really was a huge collection of extra limbs that she'd been neglecting, and that letting them float around her was like stretching them out. She felt more relaxed, kind of strange, but seemed really nice. Maybe she should let her hair out a bit more often.

"Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos, Azarath, Metriom, Zynthos…" She began to chant, first relaxing every part of her body, and allowing her mind to think of nothing. Soon, however, her chanting changed, and she began to repeat, "Necronam, Hezburec, Mortix," Instead. She didn't argue, this was far more effective for when she began to sort out her emotions and troubles.

Most of them were minor, wondering about whether it would be a good idea to let the Titans keep their new powers, whether it would be fair to take them away simply for the sake of trying to separate them more from what happened? The answer to that was simple: No, it was not fair. They had gone through all of that just as she did, she had no right to take that away, whether or not it had been her battle. They were her friends, they were family.

Then there was the worry about when she and Malorek would get married, but that was very small. They were simply promised, they had an eternity together, it seemed. And her body was still young, in spite of the length of time it took for her to grow. Her body was 16 years, but she was, in fact, much older than that. Yes, it could wait. None of the titans would be getting old anytime soon either, not with Zacroma's blood coursing through their veins, and Zacroma would stop growing soon enough, probably when she reached 17. There was no hurry.

A bigger worry was Arella, how was Raven going to explain to her everything that had conspired? She'd have to go to Azarath, of course, her mother would want to know about her engagement to Malorek and the longer she waited the more wrath she'd receive.

And then, the biggest worry came up, one that had been bothering her for a while yet she didn't want to address it, the marriage itself, between she and Malorek. Raven's body began to tense, she didn't know what to think, what to do about it. Was it right? She was half-demon in this body, but her _true_ body had no human in it whatsoever. It went without saying that there would be no children, Raven had placed a spell on her womb to keep herself from conceiving the other night, but…

She loved him, she loved him dearly, and he loved her more than she could have ever dreamed. It was right, wasn't it? She could have this? Could she?

Softly, Raven began to whisper, "Our father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…"

"**_Questions?"_** A voice like a roar of seven waterfalls answered her prayer, loud and booming, but at the same time soft, comforting. Still, it surprised her, causing her to jump, though she didn't break her meditative state. It seemed as though she were being held there by a firm, but gentle hand.

_Y-y-yes…_Raven answered uncertainly, suddenly feeling _extremely_ nervous. She didn't have to ask who it was, she _knew_, she knew _exactly_ who she was speaking to. And He waited, waited for her to tell him, _I…I…_She swallowed, _Doyouloveme?_ She suddenly asked, not entirely sure where that had come from, but it seemed something she just couldn't set aside, something she had to know, something that had been burning her ever since she was born as Avelona.

"**_Yes, I do."_** The voice answered.

Then…why… 

"**_Why do I love you when you are what you are? Why have I allowed these things to happen to you? Why have you had to face so much hardship?"_** The voice finished for her, firmly still, but not unkindly.

_Y-yes…_ Raven answered, shaking a bit with nerves, suddenly very glad that she was only _hearing_ Him, and not seeing.

"_**Do you know why I am speaking to you in this way?"**_

_N-no._

"Because I want for there to be no doubt, no question in your mind of what I need you to know. You were born with a human soul, Raven, because I knew that it would be the only way for you to overcome Yulazrielle. If not, the child she conceived would have neither soul nor conscious, it would be a doll, and she would use it. As it was, you were able to fight against her, to run from her, and finally to defeat her, as it was only fitting. You will ask my why I simply allowed the child to be born and did not stop it completely. It is because you were needed, Raven, you have done more than you will ever know, more than you truly need to know. You will ask me why I answer your prayers, why I love you even though you are born of vial blood. It is because you have strived forever to reach me, to turn from the darkness and the evil, and so I sent the seraphim to aid you. I will always answer your prayers, Raven, whatever body you may possess, you are still one of My children.

"I am also here with an answer to a prayer that your friend made on you're behalf. Yes."

W-what? 

"She asked that you be spared from the fate that your current body holds for you, and I've said yes."

But, the prophecy… 

"Will come to pass in time, but not through you. You have earned your freedom, Raven, marry Malorek Rechior, protect the world you hold dear, and live happily with your friends. There will be hard times ahead, but they will be little in comparison to what you have faced. Know only that I listen to your prayers, and take no heed of those vile beings who will tell you otherwise."

Raven felt herself hit the roof of the T-tower, she was panting, and sweating, but there was a smile on her face as she laid there, staring up at the sky, her hair spread out around her. Her heart sang with a joy she couldn't quite describe, and it was _wonderful_.

"Thank you." She whispered, "Thank you."

XP

A/N: Heheh, who saw Chire'ni and Cyborg coming a mile away? Honestly, at first I wasn't planning to put those two together, but…somehow, it just seemed to fit, you know? These characters tend to run away with me, and the whole 'Puppy' thing, it just, I don't know, I was thinking about it all and it just seemed to come into my mind and _stay there_. Like it was _the perfect nickname_ Chire'ni could give Cyborg. .

Anyway, someone mentioned this to me, I think it was Lea Cat, commenting on writing fanfics on a fanfic. These, I think, are called cookies, according to Kioko. I don't know what policy is on cookies, I've never heard or seen a cookie on so it might just be best to leave alone. Still, I guess I'll go ahead and say that if someone actually, seriously _wanted_ to write a cookie off Spellbinder (Dude, it's _that_ popular! SWEET!), just PM or e-mail me with 'Spellbinder Cookie' for the subject, and I'll, most likely, give you permission.

Now, I am _not_ going to think so highly of myself as to assume that very many people are actually going to bother writing a cookie on my fanfic, but for the few of you, like Lea Cat, who seriously _want to_, I have a few things to say: First off, run wild. I am not going to tell you that you can't put this here, you can't have that, and that Raven _has_ to be the main character, or that you can't have OCs, no. Do what you want, whatever you want, I set you free! Just keep in mind, however, with OCs and such, that there are _very few_ beings that can possibly be any more powerful than Raven. And these beings are: Fallen Angels, Archangels, Satan, and God. I'm not going to restrict you to this, though, do what you want, it's just something to consider. I'm serious, you can do _anything_, you can have a Zacroma Bashing fanfic where Terra comes back with new anti-half-angel powers or something, you can split Malorek back into Malchior and Rorek for some strange reason and do the threesome a few of you were considering. YOU COULD HAVE JUDORA RAPE RAVEN FOR ALL I CARE, I will be seriously disturbed by this, but, whatever you want. LET THE CHAOS BEGIN! MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Also, it probably goes without saying that you'll have to put at the top of your fanfic a disclamer explaining that it's a cookie, that the original fanfic is Spellbinder blah, blah, blah, _WHATEVER_. I'm not encouraging you to do this, mind, I'm just saying that you _can_ if you _want to_. To be honest, I myself sometimes wish I could write a fanfic on a fanfic, but figure it would be a bad idea, and it probably is, but, you know, whatever. DO AS YOU WANT!

In other news, for those of you who didn't read my last post, I have a DeviantArt account now, and I'd really appreciate it if you guys would check it out ., Heheh, I just now posted a Mal/Rae/Ror comic and it's pretty funneh if I do say so myself.

Anyway, on to the reviews!

OppositesAttract19: Thanks! And yeah, I never much liked Terra either, but I still try to keep an open mind about characters and therefore keep them _in_ character. And yeah, you're right about that! .

Evilsangel: Perhaps they aren't for you oh boldest of the bold (YOU WROTE A LEMON FOR HOMEWORK ARE YOU MAD? DUDE, I'M SURPRISED YOU DIDN'T GET AN F FOR THAT!), but for me, they are. Therefore, no lemons, only lime stuffs. So there! .

Trenin: Heheheh, to be honest I was planning to write that scene before your review . I rather enjoyed his reaction, didn't you? And I'm glad you support my decision to put Chire'ni and Cyborg together, they just seem so…I dunno, these characters seem to do what they please sometimes. .

Lea Cat: UPDATING! I'M UPDATING ALREADY!

Thermopolis: You think? Hm, yeah, maybe I should. Do you know of any sites I can check into for that? That'd be cool.

I don't know when I'll start writing on the other shorts, I think I might take a small break for the time being, work a bit more on getting stuff up on DeviantArt, so watch for me there! For now,

Ja ne Mina-san!


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